The home search process can be a long one for anyone. After all, tight inventory, limited access to credit and rising home prices require patience on the part of the buyer. The ability to check out online lots of potential dwellings from your couch while in pajamas certainly changes things. Recent research done by the National Association of REALTORS® shows that the length of the home search often varies by generation; for example, millennials typically looked for a home about 11 weeks, while baby boomers and members of the Silent Generation searched for 8 weeks. And all that Internet home cruising also impacted the length of a home search; those who used the Internet to find the perfect place visited more homes and searched for longer, looking at 10 homes over a 10-week period (versus four homes in four weeks for those not looking on the web).

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Take a look at NAR’s Real Estate in a Digital Age report to see how different generations are going through the home search process (and at what speeds). Speak to a REALTOR® in your area to get his/her perspective on how generations may or may not differ in terms of the length of the home search.

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