DQNews Archived Article

Who Buys Florida Homes?

by Real Estate Analyst John Karevoll
February, 1999

La Jolla, CA.— A total of 2,152 people named Smith purchased a home in Florida last year (1998). The second most common last name was Johnson with 1,486, followed by Rodriguez with 1,337, Brown with 1,276 and Williams with 1,269 home purchases, a real estate information service reported.

The Smiths paid a median $84,000 for their home, so did the Johnsons. The Rodriguez median was $85,000, Brown median was $85,000 and the Williams median was $80,000 (see chart) according to DataQuick Information Systems.

Surname	Count	$Median
Smith	2,152	$84,000
Johnson	1,486	$84,000
Rodriguez	1,337	$85,000
Brown	1,276	$85,000
Williams	1,269	$80,000
Miller	1,123	$93,000
Gonzalez	1,084	$88,000
Jones	1,053	$84,000
Davis	930	$83,000
Perez	897	$84,000
Source: DataQuick

"Generating lists like this from our database may seem a bit frivolous, but when you dip deeper into the well, interesting demographic patterns emerge," said Mike Ela, who heads the DataQuick Products Division. He pointed out that Hispanic surnames have become more common during the last decade, as have homebuyers with female first names.

While Florida home buyers named Smith paid a median $84,000, the overall median hides regional differences. In Highlands County the median for Smith was $48,000, while it was $129,000 in St. Johns County. Nationwide, Smiths paid a median $122,000 last year, ranging from $78,000 in Oklahoma to $230,000 in Hawaii.

DataQuick, which has an office in Miami, monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to consumers, educational institutions, public agencies, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts.

The highest home prices were paid by people the last names of Siegel with a median of $153,000, Silverman with $149,000, Steinberg with $140,000 and Freedman with $140,000. At the other end of the scale was the last name Amos with $61,000.

A total of 319,963 homes were purchased in Florida last year, up from 288,420 the year before. The state's median home price went up from $90,000 in 1997 to $95,000 last year.

Source: DataQuick Information Systems

Media Inquiries: John Karevoll (909)867-9534

Copyright © 1999 DataQuick Information Systems.
All rights reserved.

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