Interest in Owning a Home Remains Strong 

Interest in purchasing a home as an investment has more than tripled in the last year, according to a survey released today by Move Inc., which operates Move.com and REALTOR.com.

More than 17 percent of potential home buyers say they plan to purchase a home in the near future as an investment, compared to just 5.6 percent in March 2009, the survey found.

Owning a residence in remains a goal for many more potential buyers:
21 percent of consumers report they plan to purchase a home in the next 12 months to five years.
7.9 percent plan to purchase in the next two years.
49 percent of all home owners would buy another home today if they could sell the one they currently own for what they paid for it.

Of those planning to purchase a home in the near future, 50.7 percent are first-time buyers. About 55 percent of potential first-time buyers are men.

While access to financing is important, many buyers plan to use cash to make real estate purchase:
12.3 percent of Americans planning to purchase investment property in the near future say they will pay for the property using 100 percent cash.
12.8 percent will use cash for more than 50 percent of the purchase price and finance the rest.
49.2 percent say they will buy the property with less than 50 percent cash down and finance the remainder.

Source: Move Inc. (04/13/2010)