Last week I held a First Time Home Buyer Seminar at St. Catherine’s University and had a nice turnout. There is really a lot of good information out there that buyers need to know in today’s market!  Yesterday I held a Life Transition/Downsizing Seminar at Arbors at Ridges in Burnsville for people that are needing to either move into a smaller home or a 55+ community type setting. Despite the sleet and snow about 25 people attended and were able to learn a lot about the current market and how the process of selling a home works today.  If your organization or company has people that would  be interested in a real estate seminar please let me know. I can adjust my program from first time home buyers to move up buyers to downsizing. The market has changed so much it is really helpful for buyers and sellers to know what they are up against before they start the buying or selling process!

Why purchase a home? The main reason is the same as it has always been – the desire to own one’s own home.  In 2012 1/3 of all home buyers purchased for this reason and 60% of first time home buyers purchased their home for this reason.  Other main reasons to buy a home were a change in family circumstances, job relocation, move up buyers, need to downsize and a desire to be near family and friends.  Younger buyers tend to buy because the want to own their own home and older buyers are usually wanting to be near family and friends. For more detailed information see the chart below from Meredith Dunn, Research Communications Representative, managing research content on Realtor.org. Click on chart to enlarge.