Every year since 1981, the National Association of Realtors has published a Profile of Home Buyers and Seller. Which is a survey of recent home buyers and sellers. The annual study provides experts in the field with granular data on consumer buying and selling habits. This year’s report contains unique data which has emerged from a year of transition for the housing market. Here are a few key facts that I found very interesting.
Home Buyers Characteristics
- First-time buyers made up 26%, down from last year’s 34%. This is the lowest share of first-time buyers since the data collection began.
- The typical first-time buyer was 36 years old this year, rising from 33 last year, while the typical repeat buyer age climbed to 59 years. Both are all-time highs.
- The median distance between the home that recent buyers purchased and the home from which they moved was 50 mile. A record high and a more than three-fold increase from the median of 15 miles from 2018 through 2021.
- 12% of buyers purchased a new home, and 88% of buyers purchased a previously-owned home.
- Buyers looking to avoid renovations and problems with plumbing or electricity at 41%. Buyers who purchased previously-owned homes were most often considering better price at 31%.
- 49% of buyers cited quality of the neighborhood as the most important factor determining the location. Convenience to friends and family and overall affordability of homes were both cited at 37%.
- The typical downpayment for first-time buyers was 6%, while the typical downpayment for repeat buyers was 17%.
- Buyers typically searched for 10 weeks and looked at a median of five homes, and viewed four homes only online.
- The typical home that was recently purchased was 1,800 square feet, had three bedrooms and two bathrooms, and was built in 1986.
Home Sellers Characteristics
- The typical home seller was 60 years old, an increase from 56 last year.
- The most commonly cited reason for selling their home was the desire to move closer to friends and family (21%), moving due to retirement (11%), or the neighborhood has become less desirable (11%).
- Recently sold homes were on the market for a median of two weeks, an increase from one week last year.
- Sellers typically lived in their home for 10 years before selling.
- 86% of home sellers worked with a real estate agent to sell their home, 10% sold via FSBO, and less than 1% sold via iBuyer.
- For recently sold homes, the final sales price was a median of 100% of the final listing price, the highest recorded since 2002.
- 41% of sellers traded up to a larger home and 32% purchased the same size home.
For Sale By Owners (FSBO) Characteristics
- 10% of recent home sales were FSBO sales this year. This is up from 7% last year.
- 50% of FSBO sellers knew the buyer of the home.
- Within rural areas 13% sold via FSBO compared to 6% of sellers in suburban areas.
- FSBOs typically sell for less than the selling price of other homes; FSBO homes sold at a median of $225,000 last year, significantly lower than the median of agent assisted homes at $345,000.