Tuesday Tidbits: Impact of Pets

Here at DCAR, we want to make your jobs easier. That’s why we’ve started up our Tuesday Tidbits series, a weekly email that will provide you with a useful, relevant piece of information that will hopefully come in handy as you work. If you missed any of the previous editions, those are archived here.

Much of the information we use in these emails comes from the National Association of REALTORS^® resources RealtorMag and HouseLogic. We encourage you to browse through their content for other useful tips.

Importance of Pets

Whether you’re a dog person or a cat person (or maybe a lizard person?), there’s a pretty good chance you’re a pet person. Most people are. According to a recent survey, roughly 80 million households in the US have a pet, and more than 40% of those households have multiple pets.

So when it comes time to buy or sell a home, it’s crucial to remember the furry (or scaly) creatures that also share the living space.

How a Pet Fits in a Home

So how do we take that knowledge and translate it into useful information? Consider the ways each aspect of a home or neighborhood can help or hinder a pet and its owner.

Here are some things to take into account when buying or selling a home, courtesy of an NAR profile on animal impact on homes, whether there are pets involved or not. Because after all, even if there aren’t any pets in the equation now, there very well might be pets involved down the line.

• 95% of consumers believe it’s important that a housing community allows animals, and 89% wouldn’t give up their pet due to housing restrictions or limitations. Make sure to check if there are any restrictions on animals or breeds in the neighborhood or building.
• More than 50% of consumers want to be near a walking path, nearly 50% want to be near a pet store, and 38% look for proximity to a dog park. Do some quick research to find the nearest of each — it could be a deal-maker or a deal-breaker.
• According to REALTORS^®, 92% of city/urban buyers with pets consider having a fenced yard important, 72% find laminate flooring important.
• About 50% of consumers completed home renovations to accommodate their pet. The most common renovations: building a fenced yard (23%), adding a dog door (12%), and installing laminate flooring (10%). If a home is missing any of these features, do some research to see how difficult and expensive it would be to add them.

There are plenty of other useful pieces of information in the guide linked below, but the key takeaway here is to not forget about the animals. After all, 99% of animal owners consider their pet to be part of their family.

And that includes REALTORS^®! About 80% of REALTORS^® consider themselves animal lovers, nearly 70% have a pet of their own, and 12% volunteer for an organization that helps animals.

Don’t forget: Your home is their home, too.

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Have an idea for a Tuesday Tidbits subject? Looking for help on a particular topic? Send an email to bfrantz@dcrealtors.org with your input and you might see it in a future Tuesday Tidbits email.

The information expressed herein is intended to serve as a general resource guide for the members of the District of Columbia Association of REALTORS^® and is subject to change. While the District of Columbia Association of REALTORS^® strives to make the information in this email as timely and accurate as possible, the Association makes no claims or guarantees about the accuracy or completeness of the contents, and expressly disclaims liability for any errors and omissions. This information should not be taken as legal counsel.