How Agents Can Help Clients With Children

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2016

The home search for many households with school-aged children is still going strong into the fall, as many buyers are faced with low inventory and rising prices. In fact, a new survey from NAR revealed that finding the right property was the hardest task for 53 percent of buyers with children.

“In a fast moving market with fewer homes for sale and rising prices, more buyers find themselves in need of a real estate professional to help them find the right home and guide them through each step of the process,” says NAR President Tom Salomone. “Despite recent industry reports to the contrary, busy families require hands on attention and unparalleled transaction and local market knowledge and regularly turn to full-service agents, who provide a broad range of services and manage most aspects of a home purchase and sale.”With increased competition and the clock ticking for families to find the right property, it's important for agents to know how to assist this demographic of buyers.

A major factor influencing this type of buyer, not surprisingly, is the the location and quality of nearby schools. Fifty percent listed school quality as the most important neighborhood factor when buying, and 46 percent said that convenience to good schools was the most important thing when choosing a neighborhood. 

So what do buyers with children want from an agent? First and foremost they want easy access to mobile-friendly real estate information. They also shared these communication preferences:

• Fifty-nine percent of respondents said they want agents to update them with property information via text.
• 56 percent want to communicate with their real estate agent via email.
• Thirty percent of buyers say its important that agents have a mobile-friendly site where they can look at properties.
• Since many buyers are aware of the lack of inventory, they also expect agents to be proactive with property information. 77 percent of respondents said these activity updates were very important to them and wanted to be kept in the loop as much as possible.

For agents working with sellers with children, the top thing to keep in mind is the sense of urgency. A whopping 69 percent said they needed to sell their home somewhat or very urgently. These clients say they needed to sell within a specific timeframe (22 percent) and need help pricing their home competitively (19 percent). When finding their agent, 46 percent of sellers with children preferred to get a recommendation from someone they knew.

Source: NAR

Parenting and Homebuying Study of American Parents

May 2014               Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC

Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC partnered with psychotherapist Dr. Robi Ludwig on an omnibus survey about how evolving parenting styles may influence major decisions, such as choosing a home. The following questions were asked among 2,826 parents in the United States. The parents were asked to answer how strongly they agree or disagree with each of the following statements about raising their family, thinking about when their children was/were 18 years old or under.

Most of my major purchasing decisions revolve/revolved around my children.
(Base: 2,826 respondents)

Millennial and Gen X parents are more likely to say they make/made major purchasing decisions that revolve/revolved around their children than previous generations.
 • 79% of Millennial parents and 70% of Gen X parents make/made major purchasing decisions that revolve/revolved around their children.
 • Only 52% of Boomer parents and just 41% of parents age 70 and older stated that they make/made major purchasing decisions that revolve/revolved around their children.
Mothers are more likely than fathers to make most of their major purchasing decisions revolve around their children.
 • 65% of mothers stated that most of their major purchasing decisions revolve/revolved around their children,
compared to 54% of fathers.
Responses were relatively similar among parents regardless of geography.
 • 62% of parents in the South stated that most of their major purchasing decisions revolve/revolved around their children, compared to 61% of parents in the Northeast, 60% of parents in the Midwest and 58% of parents in the West.

When thinking about moving, I am/was more concerned about the immediate impact it will/would have on my children’s emotional well-being than whether it is/was a good long-term decision.
(Base: 2,826 respondents)

Younger generations of parents are more concerned with the immediate impact a move would have on their
children’s emotional well-being than whether or not moving is a good long-term decision.
 • More than two in three (67%) Millennial parents are more concerned about the immediate impact moving would have on their children’s emotional well-being than whether or not moving is a good long-term decision.
 • A similar percentage of Gen X parents (64%) feel the same way.
 • Only 54% of Boomer parents and 42% of parents age 70 and older are/were more concerned about the
immediate impact moving would have on their children’s emotional well-being than whether moving was a good long-term decision.
Responses were relatively similar among parents regardless of gender and geography.
 • 59% of mothers are more concerned about the immediate impact moving would have on their children’s
emotional well-being than whether or not moving is a good long-term decision, compared to 56% of fathers.
 • Parents in the Northeast (60%) are most likely to feel more concerned about the immediate impact moving would have on their children’s emotional well-being than whether moving is a good long-term decision, followed closely by parents in the South (59%), Midwest (57%) and West (53%).Parenting and Homebuying Study of American Parents

I am/was more involved in my children’s lives than my parents were in my own life.
(Base: 2,826 respondents)

The majority of parents across generations feel they are more involved in their children’s lives than their parents were in their own lives.
 • 68% of Millennial parents consider themselves more involved in their children’s lives than their parents were in their own lives, compared to 72% of Gen X parents, 74% of Boomer parents and 68% of parents age 70 and older.
Parents feel similarly about their involvement in their children’s lives compared to their parents’ involvement in their own lives, regardless of gender or geography.
 • 73% of mothers and 70% of fathers believe they are more involved in their children’s lives than their parents were in their own lives.
 • 74% of parents in the West, 72% of parents in the Northeast and 71% of parents in both the South and Midwest feel they are more involved in their children’s lives than their parents were in their own lives.

When thinking about where to live, it is/was important to be near my parents and/or my spouse/partner’s parents.
(Base: 2,826 respondents)

It is far more important for Millennial and Gen X parents to live near their parents or their spouse’s parents than it was for previous generations.
 • 62% of Millennial parents and 57% of Gen X parents feel it is important to live near their parents or their spouse’s parents, compared to just 43% of Boomer parents and 29% of parents age 70 and older.
Mothers are more likely than fathers to feel it is important to live near their parents or their spouse’s parents.
 • 51% of mothers feel it is important to live near their parents or their spouse’s parents, compared to 45% of fathers.
Parents in the West are the least likely to feel it is important to live near their parents or their spouse’s parents.
 • Just 40% of parents in the West feel it is important live near their parents or their spouse’s parents, compared to 53% of parents in the Northeast, 52% of parents in the Midwest and 48% of parents in the South.

I care/cared more about living in a good community or school district for my children than I do/did about a convenient commute to work.
(Base: 2,826 respondents)

Gen X parents are the most likely generation to value a good community or school district for their children over a convenient commute to work.
 • 84% of Gen X parents value a good community or school district for their children over a convenient commute to work, compared to 79% of Millennial parents, 77% of Boomer parents and 71% of parents age 70 and older.
Responses were relatively similar among parents regardless of gender and geography.
 • 79% of mothers and 78% of fathers care more about living in a good community or school district for their children than a convenient commute to work.
 • 80% of parents in both the West and Midwest care more about living in a good community or school district for their children than a convenient commute to work, compared to 78% of parents in both the Northeast and South.Parenting and Homebuying Study of American Parents

Full methodology:
This survey was conducted online within the United States between March 13-17, 2014 and March 18-20, 2014 among 5,098 adults ages 18 and older (of whom 2,826 are parents) by Harris Poll on behalf of CooperKatz via its Quick Query omnibus product. 
Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. 
Propensity score weighting was used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online. 
All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with non-response, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Poll avoids the words “margin 
of error” as they are misleading. 
All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, 
un-weighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.
Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Poll surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Poll panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.
Response base:
Total respondents: 2,826 American parents (ages 18 and older)
Definition of generational classifications:
For the purposes of this survey, the different generations were defined as follows:
Millennials: parents age 18-34
Gen X: parents age 35-49
Boomers: parents age 50-69
Age 70 and older: parents age 70 and older
Definition of geographic regions:
For the purposes of this survey, the United States regions were defined as follows:
Northeast: Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, 
New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont; West Virginia
Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota; Wisconsin
South: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas; Virginia
West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington; Wyoming

By the Tracy Tidwell Team at ERA Henley Real Estate in Conway, AR
http://www.tracytidwell.com
Tracy: 501-472-4709   ERA: 501-327-6731