Moving with Kids is a Whole Other Can of Worms

So why is May to August prime-time for Real Estate sales? It mostly comes down to families with kids.

For obvious reasons, parents would prefer moving during the Summertime, Real Estate’s infamous ‘busy season’. “Before the kids start school” is most often the #1 item on a parent’s home buying wish list. But of course there are other considerations as well. The holidays are more chaotic with kids so being in place before then contributes a lot toward family harmony. And the weather matters for almost anyone making a move.

Moving with small children, and even older kids, has some unique complications associated with it. The National Association of REALTORS examined the particular issues that parents encounter when moving to a new home.

What Matters Most When Moving With Kids

If you’re in the market for a new home, there are plenty of stressors that naturally factor into the process. If you happen to have children, however, a completely new layer of stress is added to the mix.

According to results of a recently released 2018 ‘Moving with Kids’ report from the National Association of REALTORS, real estate consumers with children under the age of 18 are confronted with a unique set of challenges that play out in the home-buying and home-selling arena. Here are some of the findings from the report that illustrate those challenges:

Home Buyers with children tend to purchase larger homes than their child-free counterparts. The average buyer with children under the age of 18 opts for 2,100-square-feet or more, with four bedrooms and two bathrooms, while the average home buyer without children is more likely to choose a home of around 1,750-square-feet with three bedrooms and two baths. Both groups in the study preferred single-family, detached homes.
Schools are a critical factor. Fifty percent of buyers with children say the quality of a neighborhood’s school district is important, compared to 11 percent of buyers without children. Convenience and proximity to schools is also a crucial consideration, with 45 percent saying it’s an important factor.

Authors Note: I always suggest that my clients weigh the benefits of the neighborhood school district when they’re making a decision to buy, even if they do not have school-age children or if their kids attend private schools. A good school system has worth far beyond the surface, such as when the time comes to sell your home. Doubtless, a school district can add value to, or detract value from your property, not to mention the time factor. A home in a desirable school district will very likely sell faster.

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.

Authors Note: Lenders, for VA loans in particular, may take into consideration the presence of children in a family. Child-care expenses could factor in. Child support, whether paid out or received, will be weighed. The VA loan has a ‘residual income’ requirement. The larger your family, the large the amount of residual income required. This is income left over after your basic necessities and expenses.

When it comes to selling a home, 24 percent of those with children choose to sell because their house is too small. Only 8 percent of people without children at home sold their house for the same reason.
For sellers with children, urgent is the word that most often describes their selling situation: 26 percent of sellers with children qualified their need to sell as ‘very urgently,’ compared to only 14 percent of sellers without children.