Buyers face longer delays as they search for the 'right' home

Amid a continued shortage of available housing inventory, buyers are spending significant amounts of time searching for the right home.

According to a new survey from the National Association of Home Builders, some 54 percent of active buyers say they’ve been searching for three months or longer to find their perfect home.

The reasons that buyers say they’re taking so long to find the right home include not being able to find a property that’s within their price range, as cited by 49 percent of survey respondents. Other reasons include not being able to find a home with their desired features (40 percent), and being unable to locate a home in the right kind of neighborhood (38 percent).

But despite the delays, few buyers are willing to give in. Instead, most say they’ll keep on looking until they do find their perfect home, no matter how long it takes.

The survey found that 61 percent of active buyers will keep on searching until the “right” home comes available in their preferred location. Another 37 percent said they plan to expand their search area for a desirable home. Meanwhile, 23 percent plan to search for a smaller or older home than they had first intended, while 18 percent will try to find one that’s more expensive than they’d previously budgeted for.

Not everyone is quite so determined however. The poll revealed that 18 percent of buyers intend to put off their search until next year or later.