Earlier this month the National Association of Realtors (NAR) released their annual survey of recent home buyers and sellers. This has been NAR’s flagship report since it was first published in 1981, providing industry professionals insight into detailed homebuying and selling behavior.
Let’s take a look at some of the highlights of this year’s report, covering transactions between July 2023 and June 2024.
The first couple are a bit concerning to be honest.
✅ First-time buyers decreased to 24% of the market share (32% last year). This year now marks the lowest share since NAR began collecting the data in 1981.
Feeling the pinch of higher interest rates 📈 and soaring home prices 💲💲💲 is likely the reason, but we should also keep in mind that it’s an election year and we will have a new administration in 2025. This trend could, indeed, swing the other way. Let’s hope so. 🙏
See chart below:
✅ The AGE of homebuyers has increased to record highs in the latest NAR report. The median first-time buyer age increased to 38 years old this year from 35 last year, while the typical repeat buyer age also increased to 61 years from 58 last year.
With today’s home affordability challenges, it’s likely first time homebuyer folks are waiting longer to ensure they are well-capitalized to become homeowners. For repeat buyers, the lock-in effect has to share some of the blame.
Other notable stats:
✅ 62% of recent buyers were married couples, 20% were single females, 8% were single males, and 6% were unmarried couples.
✅ 15% of buyers purchased a new home, and 85% of buyers purchased a previously-owned home.
✅ Quality of the neighborhood (59%), convenience to friends and family (45%) and overall home affordability (36%) remained the most important factors to recent home buyers when choosing a neighborhood.
✅ In 2024, the home buying process for many started online, with 43% of buyers indicating that their first step was to look for properties on the internet. Additionally, 21% of buyers reached out to a real estate agent as their initial action.
✅ Real estate agents played a crucial role, with 86% of all buyers utilizing their services—the highest of all information sources used.
✅ All home buyers used the internet to search for a home. The most valuable content on websites were photos (41%), detailed information property information (39%), and floor plans (31%).
✅ 88% of home purchases were made through a real estate agent or broker, demonstrating the continued importance of agents in the home buying process. 5% of buyers purchased directly from a builder or builder’s agent, and 5% purchased directly from the previous owner.
✅ 74% of all buyers financed their home purchase, a decrease from 80% last year. First-time buyers were more likely to finance their purchase at 91%, while only 69% of repeat buyers financed.
✅ 26% of home buyers paid cash for their home, an all-time high for all-cash buyers.
✅ 52% of first-time buyers utilized a conventional loan to finance their home, 29% used an FHA loan, and 9% used a VA loan.
✅ Buyers continue to see purchasing a home as a good financial investment. 79% reported believing that a home purchase is a good investment.
PDF Copy – PROFILE OF HOME BUYERS AND SELLERS
