{"id":11361,"date":"2019-05-07T14:37:51","date_gmt":"2019-05-07T18:37:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/news\/?p=11361"},"modified":"2022-08-31T15:29:50","modified_gmt":"2022-08-31T19:29:50","slug":"cost-to-view-a-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/cost-to-view-a-home","title":{"rendered":"Would You Buy a Home if It Cost You $32,116 per Minute to View?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Would it surprise you to learn that more than half of home shoppers spent between 46 minutes and two hours viewing a home before buying it? According to a new survey by Zolo.ca<\/a>, 24% of recent home buyers spent between 46 and 60 minutes in a home before making an offer, while another 28% spent just over an hour to a maximum of two hours in a home before making an offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turns out, these motivated buyers didn\u2019t wait too long before sealing the deal with 71% making an offer within 24 hours \u2014 with the most determined, about 13% of the respondents, making an offer within 60 minutes of viewing the home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you compare this to the average cost of a home in Canada, it means that home buyers are essentially spending between $4,000 to just over $10,000 per minute when shopping for a home. (If this was an American home buyer, the cost per minute would drop, but buyers would still pay between $989.75 USD and $15,500 USD per minute, based on a national median sale price of $232,500, according to Zillow<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s a lot of money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cost Per Minute Breakdown<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

How was this calculated? Zolo.ca surveyed 1,854 recent home buyers in between mid-February and end of March 2019. Based on these responses, we calculated what it would\u2019ve cost these buyers to buy a property based on the March 2018 HPI Benchmark price of $481,745, calculated through the Canadian Real Estate Association National House Price map.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based on this, it means that almost one in four Canadian buyers forked out between $8,029 and $10,473 for every minute they spent viewing the property; another 28% of buyers, who spent a bit more time viewing their most recent home purchase, spent between $4,015 and $7,897.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(What\u2019s scary is that 5% of home buyers spent 15 minutes or less in a home before putting in an offer, which means each minute viewing cost them $32,116<\/strong>, based on Canada\u2019s March 2019 benchmark price.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most Buyers View a Home More Than Once<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Turns out buyers didn\u2019t spend all this time viewing the home during just one visit. In fact, only 10% of the 1,854 survey respondents viewed a home just once before putting in an offer, while 23% viewed the home twice, 31% viewed the home three times, and 20% viewed the home four times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This means that home buyers are making six-figure decisions based on only an hour or two of their time inside the property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen the market was moving fast, buyers felt the need to make quick decisions,\u201d explains Mustafa Abbasi, President of Zolo<\/a>, a national real estate brokerage and the largest national online marketplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUnfortunately, many of these buyers may have neglected due diligence and this can result in expensive repairs and renovation bills to try and fix problems with the home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since buying a property is one of the biggest financial commitments a Canadian can make, it\u2019s vital that we do our homework an get everything in order, explains Abbasi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA buyer can certainly move quicker, but still complete their due diligence. For example, buyers can get their financing in order<\/a>, they can keep separate accounts for closing costs and have their real estate experts, such as home inspectors, ready to go,\u201d says Abbasi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abbasi\u2019s advice appears to resonate with most buyers these days. According to respondents, 61% paid for an independent home inspection<\/a> before closing on their offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Younger Buyers Spend More Time<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Another interesting trend is that younger buyers spent more time viewing the property before buying. Buyers aged 21 to 29, preferred to see a property three or four times before putting in an offer, while buyers aged 30 to 39 viewed a property, on average, only twice before putting in an offer. (Surprisingly, 1% of respondents bought a home sight unseen \u2014 they only saw online pictures \u2014 and these buyers were aged of 30 to 39.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On average, these home buyers viewed 19 homes before putting in an offer<\/strong> and more than half (52%) bought a single-family detached home (8% bought a semi-detached; 11% bought a townhouse and 8% bought a condo-apartment, while the remaining purchase a row-house, cottage\/vacation property, or an investment property with multiple units).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Time Is Key<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Since buying and selling a home<\/a> isn\u2019t a common, everyday occurrence, we asked recent home buyers what they would do differently next time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n