Millennials Changing Home-Buying Process In Dallas
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - The biggest segment of home buyers today, millennials, are changing the traditional home-buying process in North Texas - with buyers deciding driving house to house isn't worth their time, when they can do the same thing online.
When Shannon Gaffney went hunting Friday for a house in Frisco, she and her agent never left the office in Dallas. Recently relocated from Oregon, and usually busy at work, the 30-year-old could have taken a day to drive from house to house, but clicking from house to house was just easier.
With digital floor plans and interiors mapped out for virtual reality viewing, even the walkthrough she could do without ever walking around.
"Honestly it's really nice, to be able to just sit at home, be on your computer, and compare different homes," said Gaffney. "Because I don't want to waste anyone's time, and I don't want to waste my own time."
Dallas real estate company Door, said buyers like Gaffney are becoming the norm. It's more rare for their agents to find a home for a buyer than it is for the buyer to find it themselves.
"It's not terribly infrequent that a buyer come in and says, here's a house I want to get," said CEO Alex Doubet. "And we take them on a showing, and then handle the whole transaction for them."
That type of purchase used to be limited to investors and wealthy buyers. But a national association of realtors study this year found only buyers over the age of 71 are contacting a realtor first before looking online. It's pushing Door and other companies to find ways to give buyers a real life look at a house, without ever going there.
"I mean, for peace of mind, I'd like to see a house before I buy it," said Gaffney. "But I definitely feel like I've seen the house before I've actually physically been there."
