What Would You Give?

Yogi Berra said he’d give his right arm to be ambidextrous. While most first-time home buyers are not going to that extreme, it is interesting to see what sacrifices are being made per the National Association of REALTORS® 2016 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers.

• 43% - cut spending on luxury or non-essential items

• 34% - cut spending on entertainment

• 27% - cut spending on clothes

• 14% - canceled vacation plans

• 9% - earned extra income through a second job

• 7% - sold or decided not to purchase a vehicle

• 44% - did not need to make any sacrifices

Forty-percent of first-time buyers experienced some difficulty during the mortgage application and approval process. Single, male buyers expressed a higher incidence of difficulty than single females and married or unmarried couples.

Pre-approval from a qualified mortgage lender before the home search process begins is still considered the best advice for all buyers who will purchase with a mortgage. Your real estate professional can make recommendations for a loan officer that could help you avoid unnecessary aggravations.

(Although this data was compiled using NAR’s 2016 PROFILE OF HOME BUYERS AND SELLERS study, you will find equally interesting data in CMHC’s FIRST TIME HOME BUYER’s SURVEY from 2015 available here: http://bit.ly/2lBUwik.)