Moving with Kids

Buying and moving into a new home is already a complicated process, but moving with children adds an entirely different set of requirements and stresses. The National Association of Realtors®' 2018 Moving with Kids report, https://www.nar.realtor/research-and-statistics/research-reports/moving-with-kids, explores the unique needs of homebuyers and sellers with children under 18.

When choosing a home, buyers with children tend to purchase larger homes than their child-free counterparts. The average buyer with children under 18 purchases a 2,100-square-foot home with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, while the average buyer with no children chooses a 1,750-square-foot home with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. According to the report, both groups prefer a single-family, detached house.

Unsurprisingly, schools play a critical factor in the purchasing decisions of buyers with children. Fifty percent of buyers with children say the neighborhood’s school district is important, compared to 11 percent of buyers without children.

Convenience and proximity to schools is also a crucial consideration to buyers with children, with 45 percent saying it is important factor. Just six percent of buyers without children agreed.

More than a quarter of all buyers with children, 27 percent, said childcare expenses delayed the process of buying a home. Those expenses also have an impact on the buying process, forcing buyers with children to make compromises on the house they purchase.

Thirty percent of these buyers compromised on the size of their home, 29 percent compromised on the price of the home and 22 percent on the condition of the home.

Buyers with and without children equally relied on the help of an agent during the home buying process, with 87 percent of all buyers purchasing their home through a real estate agent.