Skip to main content

Pop Quiz - No Cheating! (Posted January 18, 2016)

Recently, the National Association of Realtors posted a quiz on their website titled “Home Buyer Types” – it’s only five questions, so how hard could it be?  Before we start, let’s lay down some ground rules: use a No. 2 pencil, don’t ask your neighbor or your neighbor’s Chihuahua for help, and don’t leave any hanging chads (too political?).  Ready?  Go:

1. What is the median age of first-time homebuyers?
a. 28  
b. 31  
c. 39  
d. 42

2. What type of home is most frequently purchased by single women?
a. Single-family  
b. Townhouse  
c. Condo/apartment 

3. What percentage of first-time homebuyers were married couples?
a. 23%  
b. 45%  
c. 56%  
d. 62%

4. What was the most cited reason for the purchase of a multi-generational home?
a. Children/relatives over 18 moving back home
b. Health/caretaking of aging parents
c. Cost savings

5. What percentage of buyers of senior housing are first-time buyers?
a. 3%  
b. 5%  
c. 9%  
d. 15%

So, how did you do?  Aced it, right?  Do you even need me to give you the answers?  Twist my arm – here you go: (1) b – 31 years old; (2) a – single-family; (3) c – 56%; (4) b – aging parents; (5) b – 5%. 

If you’re feeling pretty proud of yourself, here are a few essay questions – extra points for neatness:

1.  How many different financing options are available to someone purchasing a multi-generational home?
2.  For a first-time homebuyer, how will the financing differ between a single-family home for a married couple and senior housing?


Tell you what, on these last two questions, I’ll let you cheat just a little – you can give me a call.  Don’t bother asking the neighbor’s Chihuahua – he’s a perpetual renter.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Numbers Don't Lie, But Wherein Lies the Truth? (Posted November 21, 2016)

Said with enough conviction, you can make almost anything sound true.   Preface the fabrication with “according to a recent bi-partisan government study,” and you’re three quarters of the way to selling the lie to a lot of people.   Seriously, try this. The next time you’re at a dinner party or having coffee with friends, pepper this little tidbit into the conversation: “I read something really interesting the other day.   According to a recent bi-partisan government study – I think it took them three years to get it all done – middle-aged men who drive either a Toyota Camry or a Honda Odyssey have more testosterone than younger men who drive either a Ford F150 or a Dodge Charger.”   You’ll get some raised eyebrows and looks of mild disbelief, but don’t let that deter you.   Just lift up your hands, palms outward, and say, “I just think it’s interesting, and it makes sense when you think about it” – and then change the subject to something completely u...
Post a Comment
Read more

Dumb as (or Smart as) a Box of Rocks (Posted June 27, 2016)

Obviously, you all want to know what Brexit means to the economy and the housing market specifically.   So do I!   But since my crystal ball is at the cleaner’s, let’s give the Brits and the European Union a little time to work out the terms of their separation and look at something else.   What’s a “fad ”?   With the help of Google, this is what I got as a definition: “an intense and widely shared enthusiasm for something, especially one that is short-lived and without basis in the object's qualities; a craze.” In April 1975, an advertising executive by the name of Gary Dahl invented the Pet Rock.   The idea came from his sitting in a bar with some friends who were complaining about the cost and time required to take care of various types of pets.   He marketed his “pets” by placing a rock in a box cut and shaped like one you would get at the pet store to carry home a puppy or a kitten.   Along with the box and the rock, a booklet was included...
Post a Comment
Read more

Left Behind (Posted April 4, 2016)

It’s highly likely that almost every single one of you already read the Yahoo! Finance article about the survey that Chase recently completed.   For the seven people who decided to take a nap under a rock last week, I’m going to share some of the major talking points here – the rest of you can step away and have an ice cream or paint your cat’s toenails.   First off, the survey shows that an ALARMING 68% of Americans are starting the home search on their own (gasp!) with 45% using a computer or laptop (as opposed to some other type of technologically advanced processor like a microwave oven) as the first step in this search and 13% using their mobile devices.   (In other related news from the Department of the Obvious, scientists have found that fish still have no use of a bicycle and looking directly at the sun is inadvisable.)   With numbers like these, we should just throw in the towel and join the circus, right?   Here’s the weird thing: in the ...
Post a Comment
Read more