The top motivating factor for consumers to purchase a home in 2010 was the “desire to own a home,” according to a study compiled by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), on behalf of the Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR).

The study found 36 percent of homebuyers cited the "desire to own a home" as a reason for buying and that more than half (55 percent) of homes purchased in the Bay State in 2010 were made by first-time homebuyers (compared to 50 percent nationally). Other reasons included the “desire for a larger home” (8 percent); a “change in family situation” (8 percent); the “desire for a home in a better location” (8 percent); and the “home buyer tax credit” (7 percent).                    

“As a Realtor who has been in the business for many years, the finding that ‘the desire to own a home’ is the number one reason why someone becomes a home owner doesn’t really surprise me,” said 2011 MAR President Laurie Cadigan, broker-owner of Concord-based Barrett & Co. “While the other benefits of owning a home for both the home owner and the community at large are important, at its core, home ownership is a personal choice.”