Buying a home is an enormous moment in a person’s life. For many, buying a home is the biggest financial decision they’ll ever make. It’s an exciting, stressful, wonderful time, but some of our clients have a question before they start shopping: “How many homes should I look at before I make an offer?”
The short answer: It depends. Recent research from Zolo, an online real estate marketplace, shows that the average buyer looks at 19 homes and spends 124 hours looking for the perfect property. Though this may be the average, we have seen these figures vary wildly from person to person. Some clients buy the first home they see, while others buy the 51st home they tour.
Ultimately, the number of homes you look at comes down to how long it takes you to find a home that meets all of your requirements. But the timeline can shift depending on a number of factors:
How much time do you have? If you are moving to Pittsburgh for work from someplace out-of-state, you may only have a couple of weekends to pick a home, which means you can only squeeze in a few walk-throughs before making an offer.
What’s your budget? A higher budget gives you more options on the market, which means you can take your time and find a home you really love.
Where are you looking? The neighborhood you’re considering determines how much inventory is available. If there’s less inventory, there are fewer homes for you to tour.
What are your requirements? Your list of must-have features will help you narrow down the field considerably. If you absolutely need a home within five miles of work, three bedrooms, a garage, a sunroom, and a wrap-around porch, you may only have one or two houses on the market that fit the bill. If you can’t find that, however, you may need to adjust your scope and start over.
These factors can dramatically alter how many homes you need to see before you’re comfortable making an offer. In general, however, you should look at a handful of homes to better understand what’s most important to you and your family.
Why Looking At Homes Is So Important
Looking at homes online can help you narrow your selection, but there’s no substitute for visiting in person. There are a couple of reasons why:
Visiting a home gives you a better sense of its value. Great photos can make a low-quality home shine, and photographs don’t pick up on issues like phantom smells, uneven floors, street noise, and dangerous neighborhoods. You need the entire home experience to come to an informed decision. Conversely, a home that looks bad online may become your dream home when you see it in person.
Your requirements may change as you begin looking for a home. We see it happen all the time (and we’ve done it ourselves!): Buyers start their search with a specific set of requests, but once they start looking around, they realize what they wanted is unnecessary or less important than they thought. In some cases, they even find their list of requirements isn’t big enough, as they’ll see something along the way that inspires them.
If you’re ready to start looking for homes in Pittsburgh, contact us. Call us at 412.926.7976 or email theblocks@theblocksintheburgh.com to begin looking for the perfect home for you and your family.