ResalesUpsetting Conventional Wisdom: Men Buy The House
A survey released Wednesday by Prudential Real Estate and Relocation says
men
feel they are the ones responsible for the tasks of buying a house -- a
result that flies in the face of conventional real estate wisdom, and the
experience of many top agents.
According the U.S. Home Buyers Study, "60 percent of American men clearly
see
themselves as having primary responsibility for the tasks associated with
buying a home, although they acknowledged that women do the legwork."
Responds John Rygiol of the Buyer"s Broker in Beverly Hills, Calif., "I
would
have to agree that most men probably do think that. But 90 percent of the
time it"s the wife who makes the decision on which house to buy."
Adds Donna Converse of Fidelis Exclusive Buyer Advantage in Goose Creek,
S.C., "I would say the initial contact is with the man, but the buying
decision is almost always the woman."
The survey sponsored, by Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services,
asked men and women about their role in the homebuying decision making
process.
Some 59 percent of men said they take on the duties of selecting a real
estate broker. Men also said they felt responsible for finding a mortgage (64
percent) and negotiating terms of the purchase (67 percent).
Veteran agent John Rice of Tate & Foss in Rye, N.H. said in his experience
men do play a significant role.
"I recently had showing where the wife had fallen in love with the house,
but
when the husband arrived he said, "This is too fancy for me," and that was
the end of that.
"I think women almost always are the ones who generate the original interest
in the house, but I still think the final say is pretty much up to the man."
Likewise negotiating the deal: "That"s a macho thing. It"s almost always the
man who does the negotiating."
John Modene of Re/Max Masters in Perryville, Ohio, said, however, even in
relocation he felt women had the primary task of buying the house.
"I"d say it"s 60/40 the other way," he said. "Women make the decision."
He agreed, however, that typically men are highly involved in finding the
right real estate agent, but less so in the actual negotiation of the deal.
"Couples have different styles," he said. "It"s not unusual for the man to
sit back in the negotiation and step in if a problem comes up."
The Prudential survey found that 80 percent of households designate one
person to be responsible for many of the tasks related to home buying, except
for looking at prospective homes and making the final decision, where 4 out
of 10 times "it is a shared responsibility."
Rygiol of California, however, said he continued to believe men were in the
back seat of the decision making process.
"Especially in relocation, it"s the woman"s decision," Rygiol said. "Men
take
the transfer because it"s a great opportunity, but then it"s a matter of how
much they have to "pay" for that opportunity. The wife decides on the house
because the man knows if she isn"t happy, then he"s not going to be happy
with his new job."
A total of 1,000 men and 1,000 women were interviewed in the survey.
Also See:
The Changing Face of Homeownership
New Study Shows What Home Buyers of Today and Tomorrow Want
Younger Buyers a Prime Mover in Housing Prices, Study Shows