More people buying homes sight-unseen

REPORT

One out of three buyers made an offer on a home last year without seeing it in person, up from 19 percent the year before, according to a new survey by the real-estate company Redfin.

Millennial buyers were most likely to make an offer without seeing the home: 41 percent reported doing so. Only 12 percent of baby boomers said they made an offer sight-unseen.

When asked to identify the nation’s most important economic issue, 40 percent cited housing affordability, followed by 38 percent who said the gap between rich and poor.

Other findings in the survey of 3,350 respondents: 23 percent of shoppers said they would cancel or adjust their homebuying plans if interest rates topped 5 percent; 51 percent of buyers and 46 percent of sellers said they relied on reduced commissions from real-estate agents; and more than half of Arab, Asian and Latino shoppers said recent immigration orders influenced their buying and selling decisions.

percent of those said they were turned down because of poor or limited credit history. More than half (56 percent) of those surveyed said they were working to improve their credit.

In addition, 27 percent of shoppers said they were “opting out” of home ownership for five or 10 years. The most common reasons cited were desiring more flexibility, reluctance to take on debt and the lack of home choices available.

“With the cost of homes today and low inventory in many areas, it’s no surprise that many consumers either prefer to rent a home or resign themselves to renting because it’s the only option,” said Sandra Bernardo, manager of consumer education at Experian.