Cheapest Home Have Happiest Owners

By:
Kara Johnson | January 25, 2012

People who paid the least for their homes are most satisfied with home ownership, while those who buy very expensive homes are the most disgruntled, or so it would seem.

That’s according to a new national survey of home ownership attitudes by the real estate blog HomeGain. However, there’s a big grain of salt that needs to be applied to the results.
 
The study found that buyers who paid less than $75,000 for their homes were the most satisfied with home ownership out of all price ranges surveyed. Those who paid more than $800,000 – the highest category surveyed – were least satisfied with home ownership.
 

Well, yes but...

 
Seems pretty straightforward, right? Well, there’s more. The survey didn’t find a straight correlation between price and home ownership, even though the most and least satisfied were at the top and bottom of the chart. The second-most satisfied were those paying $500,000-$800,000, the second-most expensive tier. And the survey found virtually no difference in satisfaction among the three pricing tiers that covered the range from $75,000-$500,000.
 
The survey doesn’t offer specific reasons for the differences, but one can imagine that someone paying more than $800,000 for a home would have pretty high expectations – expectations that may not always be fulfilled. Meanwhile, someone who pays less than $75,000 may be pretty happy about scoring a bargain, particularly if that some sold for considerably more a few years earlier.
 

Falling values = unhappy owners

 
Interestingly, price gains played only a small role in homeowner satisfaction, although falling home values were a significant factor among those who were dissatisfied with their purchase. For homeowners who were satisfied with the purchase, only 24 percent said price appreciation was the primary reason. Among dissatisfied homeowners, however, 63 percent said declining property values were the main reason they were unhappy.
 
Overall, 72 percent of those surveyed nationally said they were satisfied with home ownership, with 28 percent unsatisfied. Not surprising, those who bought their homes 5-8 years ago – near the peak of the market – were most unsatisfied, with only 59 percent satisfied, closely followed by those who bought 3-5 years ago, with a 62 percent satisfaction rate.
 
The most satisfied buyers were those who bought just recently, during the last 1-2 years, when both home prices and interest rates were low. They expressed an 84 percent satisfaction rate, followed by those who bought more than 12 years ago, with 79 percent satisfied with home ownership.
 

Youngest owners most dissatisfied

 
On a another measure, younger buyers were the most dissatisfied with home ownership, with those in 18-25 year range expressing only a 45 percent satisfaction rate. That’s well below the next lowest group, age 36-45, of which 65 percent were satisfied. The most satisfied owners were those in the 55-65 and 65+ ages groups, both of which had 76 percent of respondents expressing satisfaction with home ownership.
 
The survey involved some 1,400 homeowners nationwide.
 
 

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