Emotions, outside pressures, and economic uncertainty are shaping home-buying decisions more than many buyers would like, according to a new report from Best Interest Financial and Clever Real Estate.

Although nearly half of recent home buyers (45%) believe home buying should be a logical process, 44% say they followed their heart over their head.

In hindsight, 41% of recent home buyers wish they had been more rational in their decision-making, and over a third (36%) say their emotions caused them to act against their better judgment.

Three-quarters (76%) even admit to overlooking or downplaying red flags, most often necessary repairs (21%) and the price of the home (20%). But 42% say they convinced themselves that ignoring red flags was worth it.

Nearly half of recent buyers (45%) had doubts about their decision at some point, with 36% saying that they made an offer on a home they weren't sure about just to avoid losing it.

Additionally, 34% of recent buyers, including 44% of first-time buyers, made an offer on a home that exceeded their budget because they liked it so much.

More than half of first-time home buyers (53%) considered their decisions risky during the process, 21 percentage points higher than repeat buyers (32%).

About 41% of buyers, including 56% of first-timers, felt pressured to purchase sooner due to fears of an impending economic downturn.

Nearly two-thirds of first-time buyers (61%) feel that the economy dictated their timeline more than their personal or emotional readiness.

A staggering 78% of recent buyers say external factors influenced their decisions. A quarter of repeat buyers (25%) cited pressure from limited inventory of homes, compared to 17% of first-timers.

Nearly half of recent buyers (42%) acted faster than they were comfortable with, and 40% say there were moments when they moved forward mainly because they wanted the stress to be over.

Nearly 9 in 10 buyers (86%) say their gut feeling about a home was an important factor in their decision, with a majority of first-time buyers (54%) saying the belief that their home was better than others' was important.

Still, 44% of first-time buyers say the process made them feel like a failure at some point, and 41% were embarrassed by their home-buying budget. Just 17% and 21% of repeat buyers, respectively, felt this way.

About 89% of buyers report feeling emotionally attached to their home at some point in the process.More than a third (36%) say they felt attached to a home before viewing the property in person.

Among those who felt attached, 82% believe it influenced their buying strategy. One-fifth (20%) avoided negotiating out of fear of losing the home to someone else, and 21% made their strongest possible offer right away.

More than a third of recent buyers (37%) were less excited than they expected when they closed, with 32% saying they still check new real estate listings.

Unsurprisingly, almost three-quarters of real estate agents surveyed (71%) say emotions play a bigger role than logic for most buyers at some point in the home-buying process.

Read the full report at: https://bestinterest.com/research/stress-of-buying-a-house