This question is especially fascinating to me…. I have worked with many buyers over the years, and off the top of my head, I would say that most buyers look at 10 – 20 homes before they find, “The One,” or in other words, their dream house.  But as I think about this, I realize that the number of homes viewed really varies depending on the profile of the buyer. For example, if you are relocating to the area and looking in several towns, that number could be 40 – 50 houses.  On the other hand, if you already live in a town and a house that you know well and love happens to come on the market, that number could be one.  In fact, that’s the way we bought our current house in Weston almost 10 years ago.

According to the 2010 National Association of Realtors Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, active buyers looked at 15 homes (that was the median number) and searched for 12 weeks (median number).  So my number of between 10 and 20 was fairly accurate.  In terms of the length of time of the search, I would argue that this varies greatly and can depend on the activity and size of the particular market.  In a slower, smaller market with less inventory coming onto the market (hint – Weston), the number of weeks that buyers search could reach 52 or more, especially if their need to move is not high; for example if they are happy where they are but are looking for a home that is a bit bigger.  Whereas in a market that is constantly active with the inventory changing almost daily (hint – Wellesley or Needham), the length of time to search for the dream home can be much less.

And so I am curious to learn about your home search process.  How many properties did you see before you found “The One”?  And was your home-buying process a quick or never-ending one?  I can’t wait to hear….