Residz Team 2 min read
A new Zillow survey has discovered Americans know less about the basics of buying a home than they do about reality TV star Kim Kardashian.
Whether Australians are just as ignorant about the same aspects of home buying wasn’t tested, but plenty of Aussies do love watching the Kardashians.
The survey sought to find out if Americans knew more about celebrity love lives and football than they did about real estate.
And, indeed, it found more than 66% of Americans did not know the benefits of getting a pre-approved mortgage, yet 85% know that Kim Kardashian has four children with Kanye West.
“The average American answered 3 out of 5 questions correctly regarding celebrities, their love lives and the NFL, but only 2 out of 5 questions correctly on Zillow’s home buying basics section of the quiz.”
- The Hill’s Changing America
Options are:
If you answered ‘payment history’, you are absolutely right.
Another property-related question is “What is an appraisal?”
Most survey respondents did get correct that the purpose of an appraisal is to determine if the home is worth its purchase price.
However, the survey also asks who Justin Bieber ended up marrying after splitting with Selena Gomez, and which famous couple had a daughter named Suri before divorcing. I’ll leave you to Google search the correct answers.
While 70% correctly answered a question on whom Jennifer Lopez is now engaged to after first breaking up in 2004 (answer: Ben Affleck), the typical adult failed the basic real estate knowledge quiz.
Zillow’s home trends expert says educating yourself is important before dipping your toes in the property market.
"The real estate process can be complicated and confusing, but it doesn't have to be," said Amanda Pendleton, Zillow home trends expert. "By educating themselves on basic real estate fundamentals and hiring experts to help guide them through the process, buyers can avoid costly pitfalls and put themselves in a stronger competitive position.”
By the way, on the benefits of a pre-approved mortgage, the survey asks you which one is NOT a benefit:
If you answered “a lower interest rate” you’d be correct. Zillow said in its press release two-thirds of survey respondents don't understand the benefits of getting pre-approved for a mortgage.
“Advantages of having pre-approval can include closing on a home faster, getting clear budget constraints and making an offer that's more attractive to a seller. A lower interest rate is not a benefit of pre-approval, as the majority of respondents believed,” is said.
Residz is a fully-independent Australian-owned proptech platform that helps home buyers, home sellers, and real estate agents research property data on Australia’s 12 million homes for free. Head to Residz.com, plug in your own address, and have a play!
Photo: Hotrock Pictures. Vimeo: Kardashian Kollection at Sears.