Zillow’s Home Buyer press release, “75% of Home Buyers have Regrets About Their New Home,” has quite the shocking title, but there’s a lot to learn as a flipper. The survey is from February 2022, where new home buyers shared their top regrets.
As we know, the real estate market has been in overdrive for the past couple of years. Houses are selling for over asking, and the supply isn’t meeting demand. This has left many homebuyers to settle and make more concessions than expected when purchasing a home.
We can learn a few things from this survey to improve our flipping business. Let’s get into it.
What the Survey Says
The Zillow survey provides insight into what buyers want, what they wish they had, and how flippers can meet their needs.
According to the survey, the top regret, reported by 32% of buyers, is the home needed more work or maintenance than expected. Close behind was 31% of respondents who stated they regret purchasing a house that’s too small.
Another notable survey result is that 40% wish they had taken more time searching for a home or weighing their options. Buyers have been facing buyer burnout more the last few years than ever.
Buyers need to focus on two things above all: Location and layout. These are two things you can’t change, and that is a clue to flippers to focus on these two things above all.
How Flippers Can Use this Information
As a house flipper, it’s essential to have your hand on the pulse of the real estate market and, more specifically, your ideal location.
Now that we know buyers regret buying homes that require more work and maintenance and are “too small,” we can use this as a foundation to apply to searching for our next flip project. Not only can we forgo projects that don’t meet the criteria, but we can shift our priorities for how we flip a home to meet buyers’ needs.
Here is how I recommend using this information along with best practices as a flipper to deliver the best housing options for buyers and do the best for your flipping business:
- Focus on location and layout.
- Avoid homes that are small and don’t lend to restructuring a layout.
- Handle any concerning maintenance or upgrade needs in your flip, especially roofs, furnaces, and kitchens.
- Keep in tune with what buyers want through comps and trends.
Want to buy a property and renovate it?
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