The purchase of a new home is generally a happy experience. But how happy? Does it matter what state you are in? A recent survey asked how happy home buyers were in each state, and came up with some surprising results.
Survey Ranks Happiness by State
The national happiness average for new homebuyers was 81 out of 100, indicating that for the most part, buyers are happy with their purchases. The survey found that home buyers in Wisconsin, Alabama, Nebraska, and Alabama, were among the happiest.
The most unhappy were buyers in Wyoming, Washington D.C., New Mexico, Alaska, and Montana.
New Jersey was about in the middle, ranked 27th in happiness.
But the survey had some telling lessons for new homebuyers, and warnings for buyers to think carefully (and get good legal advice) before making that purchase. Close to 12% of buyers said that they would not buy the property they purchased, had they known then what they know now. Over 15% of purchasers regretted making their purchase.
Factors in Happiness
Of course, home buying happiness tends to correlate with certain factors. Some of the factors included:
- Size: People who bought homes with more bedrooms, and more square footage, tended to rank higher in happiness than those who purchased smaller homes. For some reason, the number of bathrooms did not affect purchasers’ happiness.
- Price: When it comes to price, moderation is key. People who paid the extremes — more than $900,000 or less than $100,000—tended to be the most unhappy. Many people on the upper end reported having to take on second jobs to make the mortgage payments, and those second jobs, as you can imagine, lowered the level of homebuyer happiness. Interestingly, people who got the best deals or bargains, tended to be unhappiest — probably because they may have purchased property with a lot of problems.
- Knowledge: The study found that the less people knew about or the less they understood the home buying process, the more unhappy they were. This would be a good reason to get a good real estate attorney, to explain the entire process to you.
The study also weighed factors such as whether the location chosen was good to raise children, whether there was a good job market, and whether the neighborhood was friendly and crime-free. The survey did not take into account post-closing problems with the purchase itself, such as problems with the property, or errors in home inspections.
Other Factors
The study did not compare people represented by a real estate attorney as opposed to those who were not. However, it did take into account the age of the home, finding people who purchased homes that were built after 1960 were happier. This can be seen as an indication that homes that have fewer problems after purchase made for a happier buyer, problems that can be found, and avoided, with the use of a good real estate attorney.
A good attorney can help make you happier with your purchase of property. Contact our real estate attorneys at The Law Office of Agnes Rybar LLC to help you with your real estate closing.
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