marriage and homebuying study - 2013

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Cold Feet? Not These Couples: More Millennials (and Northerners) Purchasing Homes Before Marriage (Base: 1,073 Respondents)

• Approximately1in4marriedmillennials(24%ofU.S.adultsages18-34)purchasedtheirfirsthometogetherwiththeircurrentspousebeforetheyweremarried,comparedtothoseage45+(14%).

• WhenlookingatallmarriedU.S.adultssurveyed,17%purchasedtheirfirsthometogetherwiththeircurrentspousebeforetheyweremarried.

• ThoseintheNortheast(24%)andintheMidwest(21%)arebothmorelikelythanthoseintheSouth(11%)andWest(12%)tohavemadethispurchasetogetherbeforetheyweremarriedtotheircurrentspouse.

New Homes for Newlyweds: Trends Among Those Who Waited Until Marriage to Buy a Home (Base: 1,073 Respondents)

• Overthree-quarters(68%)ofmarriedAmericanspurchasedtheirfirsthomewiththeircurrentspousewhiletheyweremarried.

• ThoseintheSouth(72%)aremorelikelythanthoseintheNortheast(60%)tohavebeenmarriedbefore purchasingthefirsthomewiththeirspouse.

• Thoseage55+(78%)aremostlikelytohavepurchasedtheirfirsthomewiththeircurrentspousewhiletheyweremarried(vs.65%ofthoseage35-54and46%ofthoseage18-34).

• 35%ofmarriedU.S.adultspurchasedtheirfirsthometogetherwiththeircurrentspousebeforethey’dbeen marriedtwoyears(thisincludesmarriedU.S.adultswhopurchasedahomewiththeirspousebeforemarriage).

• One-fifth(20%)ofmarriedU.S.adultspurchasedtheirfirsthometogetherwiththeircurrentspousewhentheywerebetween2and4yearsmarried.

• 10%ofmarriedU.S.adultspurchasedtheirfirsthometogetherwiththeircurrentspousewhentheywerebetween5and6yearsmarried.




• 5%ofmarriedU.S.adultspurchasedtheirfirsthometogetherwiththeircurrentspousewhentheyweremorethan20yearsmarried.

Marriage and Homebuying Study April2013 ColdwellBankerRealEstateLLC

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Total Percentage of Married Americans Who Have Purchased a Home with Their Current Spouse (Base: 1,073 Respondents)

• Alargemajority(84%)ofmarriedAmericanshavepurchasedahomewiththeircurrentspouseatsomepointintime,includingbeforetheyweremarried.

• ThoseintheMidwest(89%)aremorelikelythanthoseintheWest(81%)tohavedonethis.

• Thoseage55+(91%)aremostlikelytoindicatethis(vs.82%ofthoseage35-44and70%ofthoseage18-34).

Those who have purchased their first home with their current spouse while they were married were asked how strongly they agree or disagree with a series of statements. The following data points represent their responses:

80% Said Buying a Home with Their Spouse Did More to Strengthen their Relationship Than Any Other Purchase They Have Made Together (Base: 717 Respondents)

• 80%ofmarriedAmericanswhopurchasedtheirfirsthomewhilemarriedtotheircurrentspousesaypurchasingahometogetherdidmoretostrengthentheirrelationshipasacoupleandfamilythananyotherpurchasetheyhavemadetogether.

• Thoseage55+(84%)aremorelikelythanthoseage18-34(74%)andthoseage35-44(69%)toagreewith thisstatement.

Most Homeowners Who Purchased Their First Home After Marriage Knew it was “Part of Their Plan” (Base: 717 Respondents)

• Amajority(93%)ofmarriedAmericanswhopurchasedtheirfirsthomewhilemarriedtotheircurrentspousealwaysplannedonowningahomeaftergettingmarried.

• Thoseage45+(95%)aremorelikelythanthoseage18-44(86%)toagreewiththisstatement.

• Menaremorelikelythanwomentofeelthisway(95%vs.91%,respectively).

9 out of 10 Said Purchasing a Home was a Positive Milestone in their Relationship and Life Together (Base: 717 Respondents)

• 92%ofmarriedAmericanswhopurchasedtheirfirsthomewhilemarriedtotheircurrentspousesaypurchasingahomewiththeircurrentspousewasapositivemilestoneintheirrelationshipandlifetogether.

• ThoseintheNortheastandMidwest(both96%)aremorelikelythanthoseintheWest(85%)tofeelthisway.



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Full Methodology

ThissurveywasconductedonlinewithintheUnitedStatesbetweenMarch8-12,2013among2,116adults(aged18andover)byHarris InteractiveonbehalfColdwellBanker®viaitsQuickQueryomnibusproduct.Figuresforage,sex,race/ethnicity,education,regionand householdincomewereweightedwherenecessarytobringthemintolinewiththeiractualproportionsinthepopulation.

Allsamplesurveysandpolls,whetherornottheyuseprobabilitysampling,aresubjecttomultiplesourcesoferrorwhicharemostoftennotpossibletoquantifyorestimate,includingsamplingerror,coverageerror,errorassociatedwithnon-response,errorassociatedwithquestionwordingandresponseoptions,andpost-surveyweightingandadjustments.Therefore,HarrisInteractiveavoidsthewords “marginoferror”astheyaremisleading.Allthatcanbecalculatedaredifferentpossiblesamplingerrorswithdifferentprobabilities forpure,unweighted,randomsampleswith100%responserates.Theseareonlytheoreticalbecausenopublishedpollscomecloseto thisideal.

RespondentsforthissurveywereselectedfromamongthosewhohaveagreedtoparticipateinHarrisInteractivesurveys.Thedatahavebeenweightedtoreflectthecompositionoftheadultpopulation.BecausethesampleisbasedonthosewhoagreedtoparticipateintheHarrisInteractivepanel,noestimatesoftheoreticalsamplingerrorcanbecalculated.

88% Agreed Buying their First Home with Their Spouse Had a Positive Impact on their Perception of Being a Couple and Family (Base: 717 Respondents)

• 88%ofmarriedAmericanswhopurchasedtheirfirsthomewhilemarriedtotheircurrentspousesaybuyingtheirfirsthometogetherhadapositiveimpactontheirperceptionofbeingacoupleandfamily.

• ThoseintheMidwest(94%)aremorelikelythanthoseintheSouth(85%)andWest(81%)tofeelthisway.


One-Third Wish They Had Purchased their First Home Together Sooner (Base: 717 Respondents)

• 35%ofmarriedAmericanswhopurchasedtheirfirsthomewhilemarriedtotheircurrentspousewishtheyhadpurchasedtheirfirsthometogethersoonerthantheyactuallydid.

• Thoseage18-34areoverwhelminglymorelikelythanthoseage35+tofeelthisway(57%vs.32%,respectively).

• Menaremorelikelythanwomentoagreewiththis(40%vs.30%,respectively).


marriage and homebuying study - 2013

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