Many people believe that having pets in the home may be off-putting for prospective buyers, but in actual fact, the opposite appears to be true. Some home shoppers may even find a home more appealing if pets are living there, a new study from Quicken Loans has revealed.
According to the study, 79% of home buyers who have made an offer on a home say that seeing signs of a pet didn’t deter them from putting in a bid. However, that’s assuming there is no sign of damage caused by the pets.
Another 20% of respondents said that seeing signs of pets actually increases their desire to make an offer, so long as the home hasn’t been damaged, the survey found.
This is of course great news for homeowners with pets who’re trying to sell. It goes against the long-established belief that any sign of a furry friend living in the place might derail a deal. It’s notable too because pet ownership in the U.S. has been steadily increasing. In 2022, around 70% of U.S. homeowners have a pet, up from just 56% in 1988.
While fondness for pets is growing, there can still be a wild card in a real estate sale: the neighbor’s pet. The survey found that there’s about a 50-50 chance the neighbor’s barking dog would cause buyers to regret making an offer on a home. Cat owners are more likely than those with dogs to regret making an offer on a home where a neighbor’s dog barks.
The problem with neighbor’s pets is that the new buyer can’t do much about it. The same is not true if the seller has a pet, because of course, they will be taking it with them.
But even if the neighbor’s dog may lead to some regret, potential home buyers said that wouldn’t stop them from making an offer on a home. Only about one in 10 survey respondents said that a neighbor’s barking dog would make them wish they submitted an offer on a different home altogether.
Americans have also been willing to move to better accommodate their pet and are on the hunt for more pet-friendly home features, according to a survey conducted in 2020 by the National Association of Realtors on pets’ involvement in the buying and selling process. When it comes to the house your pet-conscious clients are looking for, the most frequent requests are hardwood floors and a fenced backyard.