OLX STUDY – From intention to acquisition: how much does the process of searching for a residence take.
For many Romanians, the experience is not in agreement with the initial expectations.
In Romania, from the intention and until the decision to purchase a home pass on average about 100 days, in the context in which the potential buyers tend to spend this time to identify the suitable property for themselves. A study on this topic conducted by OLX Imobiliare also shows that most Romanians, although they say they knew what to expect when they started looking for a home, came to see over 10 residences without finding the one they want. The problem is due to the difference between expectations and reality.
Almost half of the Romanians (47%) included in the study “From intention to the purchase of a residence”, carried out by OLX Imobiliare, have already seen over 10 possible residences, without taking the decision to purchase, while 22% of them haven`t even seen one, although they were already looking for one. Asked what is the difference between expectations and reality when it comes to looking for a residence, half of the respondents said that the acquisition process went as expected (50%), 36% of them are more dissatisfied, and 14% – more satisfied than expected.
Regarding the level of satisfaction during the period when they are looking for a residence, the respondents stated that, on a scale from 1 to 10, they are positioned as follows:
- For those that have been searching for less than a month – 6,63
- For those that have been searching for 1-6 months – 5,80
- For those that have been searching for 7-12 months – 6,17
- For those that have been searching for 13-24 months – 6,05
- For those that have been searching for more than 2 years – 5,25
Men are more satisfied than women regarding the flow of this process – men stated that their satisfaction level was 6,24 on a scale of 1 to 10, while women scored 5,63. People looking for a home by themselves have said that their satisfaction level is 5,98 on a scale from 1 to 10, while for those people who are looking together with their partner – it is 6,10.
The search process started less than one month before for 21%, 1-6 months before for 39% of respondents, 7-12 months before for 15%, 13-24 months for 11% and over two years before for 14 %.
The most mentioned negative aspects encountered during the search for an apartment are, in order of importance, the following:
- “prices are higher than I expected”
- “good properties disappear quickly from the market”
- “some offers are repeated”
- “I realized that my budget will not be enough for what I want”
- “the whole process takes longer than I expected”
- “sometimes the property does not exactly match the ad”.
“The study confirms that for many Romanians that are looking for a property, the process is a long one and that, in many cases, the experience is not in agreement with the initial expectations“, said Mihai Sava, real estate business manager OLX Group.
The study was conducted during March and April 2019, on OLX.ro and involved 1,064 respondents, men and women, over 18 years old, from different areas of Romania.
Of the respondents, 61% live in their own home (satisfaction level – 5.99 on a scale from 1 to 10), 21% live on rent (satisfaction level – 5.80 on a scale from 1 to 10), and 14% live with their parents, family or other family members (satisfaction level – 6.46 on a scale of 1 to 10).
Asked if they made any residence purchases, 43% of the Romanians included in the study said they were at their first purchase, 34% at their second, and 22% said they had purchased more residences so far. Almost 60% of the respondents intend to purchase a residence with their life partner, and 34% – alone.
SOURCE: https://www.wall-street.ro/articol/Real-Estate/240490/olx-de-la-intentie-la-achizitie-cat-dureaza-procesul-de-cautare-a-unei-locuinte.html