Interest in Owning a Home Remains Strong

Interest in purchasing a home as an investment has more than tripled in the last year, according to a survey released today by Move Inc., which operates Move.com and REALTOR.com.


More than 17 percent of potential home buyers say they plan to purchase a home in the near future as an investment, compared to just 5.6 percent in March 2009, the survey found.

Owning a residence in remains a goal for many more potential buyers:

• 21 percent of consumers report they plan to purchase a home in the next 12 months to five years.

• 7.9 percent plan to purchase in the next two years.

• 49 percent of all home owners would buy another home today if they could sell the one they currently own for what they paid for it.

Of those planning to purchase a home in the near future, 50.7 percent are first-time buyers. About 55 percent of potential first-time buyers are men.

While access to financing is important, many buyers plan to use cash to make real estate purchase:

• 12.3 percent of Americans planning to purchase investment property in the near future say they will pay for the property using 100 percent cash.

• 12.8 percent will use cash for more than 50 percent of the purchase price and finance the rest.

• 49.2 percent say they will buy the property with less than 50 percent cash down and finance the remainder.