11 things that buyers and sellers want

We bring you 11 takeaways from the 2021 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers report by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). These will give you direction for the year ahead.

1. Buyers and sellers still want real estate agents and brokers (as advisors, not gatekeepers).
2. Single women are buying more than their male counterparts. They’ve almost doubled their market share since 1982.
3. Single women invested mostly in a townhouse or row house. 
4. 30 percent of single women were unlikely to compromise on their choice of dream home. 
5. Work-from-home options mean more people are buying larger homes, close to friends and family.
6. Low inventory means fewer listings on the market for shorter periods and multiple-offer scenarios becoming more commonplace. 
7. People are spending less time in the same home – eight years compared to 10.
8. Luxury agents fared well as buyers looked for homes with more living space as well as outdoor entertainment. Resort and second-home communities tick those boxes.
9. 11 percent of investors opted for multigenerational living, needing more space to care for retired parents, accommodate adult children (possibly with their own kids) wanting to live back home, and save costs.
10. The median home sold in the south was 1,980 square feet larger than anywhere else supporting the trend to buying bigger homes, often in better areas.
11. Buyers of newly built homes chose them to avoid issues with plumbing and electricity. Those who bought a previously owned home did so because they saw more value overall.