Visions of Home : O.C. Residents Upbeat About Buying Houses
House shoppers in Orange County are richer, more upbeat about the economy, more intent on taking work home with them and more concerned with spaciousness than their counterparts elsewhere in the state, a new survey shows.
Findings of the Visions ’92 study, conducted by National Survey Systems in Irvine--are significant because Orange County is where many California housing trends begin; the desires of local home buyers are likely to help set the state’s lifestyle and work patterns for the coming decade.
The survey garnered responses from 1,719 shoppers at 85 new-home developments across California, including 451 in Orange County, the state’s major new-home market even in the midst of a recession. The study was designed to be used by builders, architects, land planners and others in the development industry to shape the homes that will be built in coming months and years.
Results of the survey--conducted in March, April and the first week of May--also show that 30% of home shoppers in California think the economy is improving. The confidence level jumped to a high of 34% in Orange County, where only 24% of those surveyed think the economy is getting worse.
That is good news for the residential construction industry, which has suffered from a lack of buyers for nearly two years now.
Statewide, 28% of the shoppers surveyed said they will buy a new home within six months. In Orange County, the number of definite buyers was 30%.
And as those buyers start signing deals, what they will be insisting on in a new home, especially in trend-setting Orange County, “is function over style,” said consumer psychologist Robert Mirman, president of National Survey Systems and chief analyst of the findings.
The main factor pulling people into new-home projects was the desire for more space. That need was cited by 30% of all shoppers in the survey and 34% of those in Orange County.
The investment opportunity of home ownership was the No. 2 reason for shopping, but it was a distant second, cited by only 19% of all shoppers. That factor fell to a low of just 11% in Orange County, where the average new-home price of $276,100 is among the highest in the state.
The reason Orange County shoppers don’t consider price appreciation a major goal anymore, Mirman said, is that the buying population is maturing: “Most buyers anticipate spending more time each day and more years overall in their homes and aren’t looking for the quick and profitable resale any more.”
While traffic congestion is a major problem across Southern California and opinion surveys repeatedly show that people don’t like long drives to work, commuting time was not a big reason for buying a new house. Only 2% of the shoppers statewide and in Southern California said reducing their commuting time was factor in their desire to buy.
There is “a big underswell of resentment of commuting,” Mirman said. “But for people in Palmdale and Lancaster or much of the Inland Empire, the urge to spend more time at home has to be sublimated to economics. They buy homes in outlying areas because that’s what they can afford. But it means there is huge pressure building to stop commuting and bring their jobs closer to their homes.”
The ‘80s were the decade of the showplace home, designed for corporate entertaining by the up-and-coming and well-to-do executive class. Wet bars, large formal dining rooms and impressive, space-consuming entryways and staircases dominated. But people are growing tired of working 12-hour days in their offices and commuting an hour or more to get there and back.
“Home buyers now want a home that is a place they can use,” Mirman said. “Lifestyles are moving back into the home and away from the office and the commute. And in a place like Orange County, where people are successful and can be more in control of their lives, they are starting to demand that control. That’s why these things aren’t an issue to buyers, say, in the Inland Empire. They are younger and less able yet to control their careers.”
That means homes in Orange County must have rooms or niches that can be set aside as home office spaces--something 39% of Orange County home shoppers but only 35% of all Southern California shoppers said they wanted.
The survey also asked shoppers whether they own or plan to purchase a number of items, including home computers and home fax machines. “The numbers we turned up,” Mirman said, “are a major factor in where homes and work habits are headed.”
While 62% of shoppers in the state said they had bought or planned to buy a home computer, the percentage shot up to 74% in Orange County--bested only by the 75% response in the broad region of Los Angeles and Ventura counties, excluding the Palmdale-Lancaster area.
And a staggering 29% of Orange County home shoppers said they already have or plan to buy a home fax machine. That was far higher than the 17% response statewide.
Mirman said he does not think Orange County home shoppers’ desire for computers and faxes means they are uncontrollable workaholics.
“It is not that we are people who want to work, work, work all the time but rather that we want to do our work on our own terms and to take back some control. I have a home computer and a home fax, for instance, and it doesn’t mean I work all the time,” he said. “But I can go into the office later and come home earlier, and I don’t have to go in on Saturdays.”
The raw survey results do suggest that home shoppers in Orange County are much more work-oriented than those elsewhere. In addition to their home office, computer and fax fixations:
* Only 7% said they would use an extra room as a hobby or sewing room, the lowest number in the state, for which the average was 10%.
* Only 4% said they would use a spare room for a library. That compared with 9% in San Diego County and 5% statewide.
For relaxation, Orange County home shoppers seem to like music and television. They led the state in the number of shoppers who had pianos or intended to buy them, at 32% compared to a 24% state average. And they were second among shoppers with wide-screen televisions or plans to get them: 38% compared to 34% statewide.
In what is perhaps a comment on traffic congestion and the expenses and difficulties inherent in going out on the town in Los Angeles, 48% of the home shoppers in the greater L.A.-San Fernando Valley region said they had or planned to get a big-screen TV.
Home-Buying Attitudes
A recent survey compares the attitudes and desires of new-home shoppers in Orange County with those of their counterparts in the rest of Southern California and the state.
Good Odds for Buying Soon
Almost half of home shoppers say the odds are 75% or better that they will buy a house by Christmas.
O.C.: 46%
So. Cal.: 43%
Calif.: 45%
Residence Preference
People overwhelmingly prefer single-family homes.
Calif. So. Calif. O.C. Detached home 84% 82% 75% Attached home 16% 18% 25%
Views on the Economy
Orange County residents are more optimistic about the economy.
Calif. So. Cal. O.C. Things are getting better 30% 30% 34% Things are getting worse 26% 26% 24% Unchanged 44% 44% 42%
Source: National Survey Systems, Irvine
Home, Sweet Home
A recent survey survey has found that house shoppers in Orange County tend to be wealthier, have smaller families and are willing to pay extra for amenities that let them spend more time at home.
WHAT’S IMPORTANT
Unlike shoppers in the rest of the state, those in Orange County are more concerned with the individuality of a home than its energy efficiency.
Calif. So. Cal. O.C. Energy efficiency 59% 49% 35% Unique design 46% 43% 46% Financing package 43% 40% 34% Size of back yard 30% 28% 31%
WHY THEY ARE SHOPPING
About a third of home shoppers statewide say they are moving because they want more room.
Calif. So. Cal. O.C. Need more space 30% 31% 34% Investment opportunity 19% 18% 11% Lower interest rates 13% 12% 6% Better schools, neighborhood 11% 6% 7% Job transfer 4% 4% 7% To reduce commuting 2% 2% 2%
MORE SPACE
The main reason for moving was to get more space. How they would use the larger quarters:
Calif. So. Cal. O.C. Office 37% 35% 39% Guest room 28% 29% 23% Den 22% 22% 20% Exercise room 10% 8% 10% Hobby/sewing room 10% 10% 7% Library 5% 5% 4% Family room 4% 4% 4% Media or TV room 2% 2% 3%
SPECIAL NEEDS
Ten years ago, shoppers wanted houses designed for executive entertaining. Today, the focus is on home as a place to take care of business, relax, feel secure. Some of the toys today’s home shoppers have or are planning to purchase:
Have or soon will buy Calif. So. Cal. O.C. Home computer 62% 70% 74% Home security system 49% 52% 49% Wide Screen TV 34% 35% 38% Piano 24% 26% 32% Home fax machine 17% 22% 29% Pool table 12% 14% 12%
Source: National Survey Systems
