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CENTURY 21 Veterans Day Survey Finds Home Ownership

By: Century 21 |  4 Shares     118 Reads

Most Important Factor for Returning Service Members

Owning a Home Makes Majority of Military Veterans Feel Safer, but Hurdles Make Their Pursuit Challenging; CENTURY 21 Partnership Helps Easter Seals Deliver Services to Veterans and Families

MADISON, NJ - (Marketwired - Nov 8, 2013) - Century 21 Real Estate LLC, the franchisor of the world's largest residential real estate sales organization, today announced the results of its Veterans Day survey, conducted online by Harris Interactive. In honor of its long-time partnership with, and dedication to, Easter Seals, CENTURY 21® conducted the survey to identify veterans' perceptions of home ownership and the roadblocks they face when searching for a home.

According to 75% of military families, owning a home is one of the most important things to service members upon returning from service. Among the reasons that becoming a homeowner is so significant to veterans are a desire to have their own residence (73 percent), establishing a household (43 percent) and financial security (36 percent). In addition, the majority of veterans (88 percent) indicated that owning a home makes them feel safer.

"Home ownership is a top priority for many, but is especially significant to those returning from a tour of duty," said Rick Davidson, president and CEO, Century 21 Real Estate LLC. "Veterans have done so much to serve our country. We are proud to work with Easter Seals to help empower veterans to lead more independent lives and fulfill the dream of homeownership."

While becoming a home owner is clearly important to veterans for a variety of reasons, only 33% of military families report actually looking for a home within a year of their own or their spouses' return from active duty. Partially to blame are the roadblocks that nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of veterans, spouses and soldiers have experienced, including the price of homes (36 percent), an inability to come up with a down payment (31 percent) and personal savings (28 percent).

"As military service members return from duty and transition to civilian life, one significant hurdle is securing a place to call home," said James E. Williams, Jr., president and chief executive officer, Easter Seals. "Part of our mission is to make this easier for the men and women who have bravely served our country and CENTURY 21 has been a strong partner in this endeavor for more than 35 years. CENTURY 21 brokers and agents are true Easter Seals Champions. Their commitment allows us to better serve the people who serve for us overseas."

Easter Seals services for veterans include employment, mental health programs, housing, and other special care services, to make reintegrating into the community easier for veterans and their families. Since 1979, the CENTURY 21® System of brokers and agents have contributed more than $106 million in total funds raised and donated directly to Easter Seals, its sole philanthropic partner, to help bolster services like these.

For active or retired service members who are interested in Easter Seals resources available to them, call the Easter Seals Community One Source Hotline, (866) 423-4981, or email veterans@easterseals.com. Visit www.century21.com/aboutus/veterans to learn more.

In addition to its longstanding partnership with Easter Seals, CENTURY 21 launched a program in 2012 called Recruiting America's Heroes, which provides returning veterans, interested in a real estate career with benefits to make a smooth career transition. Transitioning and retired military personnel receive special training programs and continuing education courses, discounts, and waived annual global conference registration fees. For more information, visit www.century21.com/careerfranchise/careers/recruiting-americas-heroes.

The other key findings from the CENTURY 21 Veterans Day survey are as follows:

Space is most important to veterans when searching for a home.

• When asked what the top amenities or features are that they look for in a home, space outweighed specific features with the number of bedrooms (83%) and bathrooms (75%) as the clear frontrunner.
• Majorities also cite storage space (59%), amount of square footage (59%), outdoor space (55%) and an updated kitchen (53%) as among the most important amenities.

While one roadblock veterans face in the pursuit of homeownership is securing steady employment, they display a generally positive attitude in regards to potential employers and positions.

• More than two-thirds (67%) believe that employers appreciate their or their spouse's unique skills learned in the military, while the same percentage (67%) believe employers are eager to hire veterans.
• However, it is important to note that nearly half (45%) agree that their skill set does not match the requirements for many available positions.
• Surprisingly, only one in five (20%) considered opening their own business when they returned home from the military.

Survey Methodology

The survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of Mullen and Century 21 Real Estate LLC from October 16-18, 2013 among 2,014 U.S. adults ages 18 and older, among whom 437 indicated that they or their spouse either currently is or previously was a member of the U.S. armed forces. It is from the aforementioned 437 responders that we based the survey results. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

About Easter Seals

For nearly 100 years, Easter Seals has provided life-changing solutions to the people of our country. From children and adults living with disabilities, to military families looking to serve their communities, Easter Seals is committed to creating a world of inclusion, dignity, empowerment and independence. We personalize solutions for individuals with autism, and intellectual and physical disabilities through innovative therapy, training, education and support services.

Recognizing the new and unmet needs of so many returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, we are also addressing serious gaps in service by mobilizing our national network of community-based services through a partnership with Dixon Center (www.theDixonCenter.org). At Easter Seals, we are equipped to serve thousands of individuals and military families across our 70+ affiliates, 550 nationwide service sites, 27,000 professional staff and 40,000 local volunteers. Find out more at www.easterseals.com.

About Century 21 Real Estate LLC

Century 21 Real Estate LLC (CENTURY21.com) is the franchisor of the world's largest residential real estate sales organization, providing comprehensive training and marketing support for the CENTURY 21 System. The System is comprised of approximately 7,100 independently owned and operated franchised broker offices in 75 countries and territories worldwide with nearly 102,000 sales professionals. Century 21 Real Estate LLC is a subsidiary of Realogy Holdings Corp. (NYSE: RLGY), a global leader in real estate franchising and provider of real estate brokerage, relocation and settlement services.

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