Market to First Time Buyers With These Tip Booklet Ideas

A national survey by Wells Fargo Home Mortgage finds that first time buyers are picky. Here are some interesting stats.

Renters

• 4 in 10 are unwilling to buy a smaller home or a fixer upper
• 46% are unwilling to live farther from work than they’d prefer
• 70% are unwilling to move into a less desirable neighborhood
• 52% believe they can’t get a mortgage because of credit issues
• 56% believe that they need a down payment of 15% to buy a home

Buyers

• 97% of first time buyers wouldn’t go back to renting
• 77% believe that buying a home is the best investment they’ve ever made
• 46% didn’t believe their credit was “excellent” or “very good”
• 74% put less than 15% down on their home
• 75% believe their home will increase in value in 2006

So, for those of you going after the first time buyer market, these stats should give you some food for thought.

Savvy marketers might note that renters appear to be worried about their credit score and down payments, so you might consider putting together a free booklet addressing those issues.

Make sure to point out that “According to a national Wells Fargo Home Mortgage survey, 97% of first time buyers would never go back to renting. What’s stopping you from buying a home?”

Then, pick a topic like

• ways to finance your first home with less than a 15% down payment
• how to get a mortgage without perfect credit
• reasons why fixer uppers are excellent investments
• reasons to consider living in [- insert “less desirable” neighborhood -]

Once you have your topic, write 5-7 pages on the topic and start offering the booklet in all your marketing materials.