Miami, FL (PRWEB) May 14, 2013
Recent studies are showing that young couples today are more likely to buy a home before getting married. Based on a random sampling of Houses.com visitors who were in the market for a home this year, this trend appeared to be prevalent in the Northeast region of the country especially. Unmarried couples and singles in the 25-34 age bracket who were actively searching for a home on Houses.com were primarily in the northeast / New England states.
Years ago, couples went the traditional route of engagement, marriage, then buying their first home, but recent studies show that those steps have now been changed, and could possibly be for the better. A recent Coldwell Banker Real Estate survey showed that 1 in 4 married couples within the ages of 18-34 committed to buying a home before taking their wedding vows. Survey results also concluded that 80% of couples that bought a home together (married or not) found that it helped strengthen their relationship.
These findings are not necessarily a surprise, says Richard Swerdlow – CEO of eReal Estate Holdings, the parent company to Houses.com. Buying a home is a great accomplishment and sign of commitment for a couple It might also help strengthen home sales in todays market, since securing a home is more often becoming a couples priority whether they are married or not.
It is certainly clear that an increasing number of couples are living together prior to marriage, and thus now taking even bigger decisions before tying the knot (such as buying homes together). More specifically, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that from 2006 to 2010, 48% of women lived with their significant others before marriage, while back in 1995 they found that number to be only 34%.
Interestingly enough however, the Coldwell Banker Estate survey found that New England couples are the ones buying houses before marriage the most. When compared to couples living in the South, only 60% of New Englanders waited for marriage before buying a home together, while 72% of Southerners said their wedding vows before making the initial purchase. It was also found that Southerners tend to marry much younger than those up living up North, and lack of money at the time of a younger engagement might be taken into account.
Psychotherapist Robi Ludwig recently told the Daily News that couples who decided to buy a home before marriage need to be honest about their individual finances and to determine that both people want the same things. Ludwig stated 3 essential questions for a couple to ask each other before buying a home together: Do they want to live in a certain part of the country? Can they both have fulfilling careers there? Do they want a family?
Real Estate Attorney John Braun from the Minneapolis-based Thomas Law Group also weighed in on this topic to USA Today, stating couples buying a home before marriage might come into some legal problems if anything should happen between the two parties. While a marriage allows the couple to sign a contract for joint ownership of the home, unmarried couples both get equal ownership, which might get ugly if they break up. Braun urged that couples buying homes before marriage should consider signing a written contract with an attorney to ensure proper ownership of the property in case anything should happen.
Whether or not buying a home prior to marriage will continue or not is unknown. In less traditionally known parts of the country however, the phenomenon has increasingly grown popular so much so that real estate portals like Houses.com have begun to take notice.
To learn more about the recent survey constructed by Cold Well Banker Real Estate, please visit: http://www.coldwellbanker.com. To find more information on houses in your area, please visit http://www.houses.com.
About eReal Estate Holdings LLC
eReal Estate Holdings LLC owns and / or operates the category-defining portals Condo.com, Houses.com, Property.com and Location.com. These real estate portals are the worlds largest online marketplaces for real estate with more than 30 million properties for sale, rent and vacation in the United States and 70-plus countries around the world. The sites receive more than 1.5 million visitors per month, and cost-effectively deliver exposure and qualified leads to builders, real estate professionals and homeowners. The privately held eReal Estate Holdings LLC is headquartered in Miami, Florida.
