The profile of the future home buyer like indicate by the company “Luxury Apartments Barcelona” : According to INE data, 515,051 home purchase and sale operations were carried out in Spain during the past year 2018, the highest figure in a decade. These data represent 4% of individuals who have bought some housing in Spain during the year 2018. In addition, it is estimated that another 8% have been looking for a house to buy, and another 17% intend to start the search for housing during the next years. As we see, approximately 25% of individuals are or will be interested in some way in buying a house, a figure not negligible.
And how is the profile of these potential home buyers? The majority of future buyers have an average age of around 40, work for others, live with their partners and have children. They usually already own a home where they reside, so they choose to sell the house to buy one that best suits their needs. In addition, they are likely to need some financing, since they will generally look for a better house with a higher price than they can get by selling the usual home.
The main reason for buying these future buyers is to start a new stage in life in a home that meets their current needs: create or increase the family, be closer to work, live in a quieter area or closer to the beach, or a change of type of house (more surface, to have garden and swimming pool, to have garage, a newer house, etc.)
The main reason to change houses is to find a home that meets current needs.
Among the most demanded requirements in the search for a house, we can find:
a better area, in a safe and quiet neighborhood, near the beach, work, schools and other services, with good views, with easy and quick access by car, as well as easy parking.
a larger area of the house, especially in the number of bedrooms adjusted to family plans, but also thinking of having space for an office, storage room, garage or a beautiful plot.
a good distribution and orientation of the house, with a proper use of space and spacious rooms, without long corridors and with lots of natural light.
a better state of the house, well maintained without major reforms, with good quality of materials, and with availability of services such as air conditioning, swimming pool, etc.
an adequate price, with an average budget of € 200,000 for the purchase of the house, but exceeding € 300,000 for some exclusive areas or types of homes such as single-family villas.
In addition to this profile of the future buyer, who seeks to buy a house to change and improve their current home, we can find other profiles to consider:
The first home buyer, whose main reason for purchase is to start an independent or couple life and / or leave the rental market.
The investing buyer, who is looking for a real estate investment product in homes that offer high profitability, mainly allocating the homes for rent.
The buyer of holiday homes, who are looking to buy a second home to enjoy their vacations and weekends, especially in coastal areas.
The luxury buyer, who are looking for exclusive homes to improve or expand their home regardless of price.
As we can see, there is an important population niche interested in looking for a house to buy. Even so, there is a large sector that does not plan to buy housing in the coming years. Mainly they are those who already own a home and have no intention of changing or acquiring more. Another part is those young people who have not found job stability to face the purchase of a house. And finally, another percentage are those who do not plan to buy since they are comfortable in the rental market.