Detailing Data on Cape Cod’s New Homeowners

Detailing Data on Cape Cod’s New Homeowners

The following information summarizes the results of a survey conducted by the UMass Donahue Institute on behalf of the Cape Cod Commission of people who purchased a home on Cape Cod between April 2020 and May 2021: Detailing Data on Cape Cod’s New Homeowners.

Some take-aways:

• The responses show that the majority of new homeowners (61%) plan to live on Cape Cod year-round, are over the age of 55 (70%), and have relatively high incomes (over half reported incomes of over $500,000 per year). Most respondents purchased single-family homes (79%), and over half of all new homes purchased are located across the towns of Barnstable, Yarmouth, Falmouth, and Mashpee. The majority of survey respondents (52%) previously owned property on the Cape, and many have owned property here for many years— 46% of respondents who indicated that this is not their first Cape Cod home have owned property here for over 25 years.
• Given the rise in remote work during the pandemic, the survey asked about the current and predicted employment status and location of work for the new homeowners. At the time of purchase, 69% of respondents were employed, and 67% of those employed worked for an employer-based off-Cape. Many respondents were working remotely (42%), but in six months that number is expected to lower to 24%. The top fields respondents reported working in include professional and technical services, health care and social assistance, education services, finance and insurance, and information, media, or telecommunications.
• About one-third (35%) of respondents said the pandemic influenced their decision to buy a home on Cape Cod. The most commonly cited ways in which the pandemic influenced their decision to buy here included the ability to work remotely, an increased desire to live near outdoor recreation opportunities and in a less dense area, and the desire to have more living space. Cape Cod’s amenities, such as access to the coast, outdoor recreational opportunities, and environmental quality, were the most important factors new homeowners considered when buying here (regardless of whether the pandemic influenced their plans or not).
• The majority of respondents turn to on-Cape providers of legal services, banking, and insurance services, but go off-Cape for accounting and investment services.