Among all buyers last year, the share of first-time home buyers grew to 34 percent from 31 percent. While first- time buyers have had record low interest rates, they have also faced a housing environment that has scarce inventory and rising home prices. Among all buyers, 31 percent paid the asking price for the home, while 29 percent paid more than the asking price.
Tightened inventory is affecting the home search process of buyers. Due to suppressed inventory levels in many areas of the country, buyers are typically purchasing more expensive homes as prices increase. The number of weeks a buyer searched for a home remained at only eight weeks. Many buyers took advantage of new virtual tours and virtual listings and used those in their search process. Buyers continue to report the most difficult task for them in the home buying process was just finding the right home to purchase.
Buyers needed the help of a real estate professional to help them find the right home and negotiate terms
of sale. Eighty-eight percent of buyers used an agent
to help them purchase a home. Sellers, as well, turned to professionals to price their home competitively,
help market the home to potential buyers, sell within
a specific timeframe, and fix up the home for sale. Ninety percent of sellers used an agent to sell their home. While the survey asked about iBuyers as a selling method, less than one percent of sellers used these online only programs. Only seven percent of sellers sold via For-Sale-By-Owner (FSBO), matching historic lows seen in past years.
- First-time buyers made up 34 percent of all home buyers, an increase from last year’s 31 percent.
- The typical first-time buyer was 33 years old this year, holding steady from last year, while the typical repeat buyer age continued to climb to an all-time high of 56 years old.
- Sixty percent of recent buyers were married couples, 19 percent were single females, nine percent were single males, and nine percent were unmarried couples.
- Eleven percent of home buyers purchased a multi- generational home, to take care of aging parents, because of children over the age of 18 moving back home, and for cost-savings.
- Eighty-two percent of buyers were White/Caucasian, seven percent were Hispanic/Latino, six percent were Asian/Pacific Islander, six percent were Black/African- American, and two percent identified as other.
- Eighty-nine percent of recent home buyers identified as heterosexual, four percent as gay or lesbian,
- two percent as bisexual, one percent prefer to self-describe and six percent preferred not to answer.
- Fourteen percent of recent home buyers were veterans and three percent were active-duty service members.
- At 28 percent, the primary reason for purchasing a home was the desire to own a home of their own. For first-time buyers, this number jumps to 65 percent.
National Association of REALTORS® | 2021 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers