Survey Shows Rise In First-Time Homebuyers

SAN DIEGO — The housing market welcomed a bigger share of first-time buyers and single women this past year, while a majority of sellers resorted to dialing down prices to get their homes sold, a new homebuyer survey shows.

First-time buyers accounted for a record 47 percent of home sales between July 2008 and June this year, up from 41 percent in the prior-year period, according to the survey conducted by the National Association of Realtors.

The annual survey gleans details on everything from how buyers came up with down payments to how long it took sellers to unload their homes. The latest results were derived from more than 9,000 responses, the trade association said.

Home sales and prices have shown some signs of stabilizing this year, and the survey results affirm the market continued to favor buyers, particularly first-timers.

"Tax incentives, record high affordability conditions and a pent-up demand brought a record share of first-time home buyers into the market," said Paul Bishop, the trade association's vice president of research.

First-time homebuyers this year have been able to take advantage of a tax credit of up to $8,000 meant to entice new homebuyers to enter the market.

Congress extended the tax incentive through next June, as long as the buyer signs a binding contract by the end of April. The program also was expanded to include a $6,500 credit for existing homeowners who buy a new place after living in their current residence for at least five years.

First-time buyers had a median age of 30 and reported a median income of $61,600, the survey shows. The typical first-time buyer paid $156,000 for their home, about $9,000 less than in the Realtors' 2008 survey.

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Repeat buyers were typically a few years older, 48, and earned a bit more than first-timers: $88,100. They also said they planned to stay in the home for 12 years.

Buyers generally took 12 weeks to search for a home, two weeks longer than last year. They also generally looked at 12 homes, up from 10.

Single women made up a slightly bigger share of homebuyers, accounting for 21 percent of buyers. That's a 1 percent increase from the prior-year survey. Single men accounted for 10 percent of buyers. But married couples continued to make up the majority of buyers at 60 percent, the survey showed.

Whites continued to dominate among homebuyers, representing 85 percent of buyers. That trend was slightly higher than in the 2008 survey.

The median down payment homebuyers made was 8 percent

More than 61 percent of buyers tapped their savings to come up with the down payment, while 22 percent received a gift from a friend or relative.

Sellers had to go the extra mile to sell their homes, with 52 percent offering incentives like paying for closing costs. They also lowered prices.

The typical home sold for 95 percent of the original listing price, the survey shows.

Still, many sellers came out ahead. The median amount over the price sellers originally paid for their home was $36,000.

Comments

[heal57]

Please do not believe all you read in this article. "Many sellers came out ahead". This is not true because notincluded in this statement are original buyers'closing costs,[now sellersl closing costs] maintenance, homeowners insurance [which goes up] and property tax increases despite homeprices subsiding. If you're not going to be in a home for 15 years [and none of us know for sure] it is a foolish investment to buy a home]. Buy it to live in it, but be careful; and do the REAL math.

[Carolab]

Exactly otherwise skip borrowing from family and friends and keep your savings and RENT instead of buying. Rents are becoming very competitive.

[FHTB]

Renting is definitely the way to go...a real estate agent friend of mine has been trying to get me to buy, but my answer is no, a thousand times no...not happening.

[NoMoreBail2]

There wont be any positive change for middle and lower class form the Obammi administration. Expect more of the same BS that was 2002-2007. More bonuses for wall street, surging stock market, booming economy, widening wealth gap, surging gas, surging food, unfordable education & health care & surging oil prices, continuation of Iraq/Afghanistan wars, and high unemployment.

hat tip to; http://financeopinionss.blogspot.com

[4TJefferson]

Wow. Chicken Little would be proud.

[Alexandre Laudet]

Adding the $6,500 credit for existing homeowners who buy a new place is a really smart decision. The goal is to stimulate the economy. regardless of whether you have owned a home previously or not if you buy a home you will have to spend to remodel, decorate or furnish your new home. I am considering moving to another city and was planning on renting because I own my apt and I would not have qualified for the credit. Now with the credit and loan rates at historical lows, I have another option. As do many others. This is great!

[markinaz]

I can't believe anybody would pay that much money for a home. Better to rent and not be your own janitor and repair guy. I've owned my 3/2 home for 15 years and I thought I paid a lot -$53,000- back then. If I were younger and just starting out, there is no way I would enslave myself to a 30 year mortgage at those prices. You can rent just as nice a place for half as much.

[Haditup2here]

It depends on how much you pay for rent. I live up north in a college town and the median amount for a one-bedroom apartment is about $700. I will almost be paying close to $800.00 after my lease goes up for renewal. So in a number of cases, you will not only pay as much in rent as you would in attaining a house, but you may actually end up paying slightly more. So, it depends on where you live. I think the important thing when getting a home is to remember that you are paying interest in addition to the principle. Therefore, it would make more sense for a person to pay more money on a monthly basis in addition to their monthly mortgage payment.

[heal57]

If you add the closing costs, mandatory insurance, taxes, and maintenance, it's still more expensive to own a home. I know!

[simpleperson]

"Survey Shows Rise In First-Time Homebuyers
Profile: White, Married, And Paid $156,000"

How misleading can a story lead be?

Congratulation HP, you have learned well from the Fox play book.

[HadBetterDays]

This article headline should read "Obama real estate tax break program has big impact on white first time home buyers"

[tbone99]

How many of those "first time" home buyers were 4 & 7 year old children of people who own one or several homes?

Thousands !

[argentino]

quiz: whose lyric?

"money, get back
i'm alright jack, keep your hands off of my stack"

and

"money, it's a crime
share it fairly but don't take a slice of my pie"

[SteveDenver]

I'm brown, gay, over 40, and scraping together a living since the franchise support company I worked at for six years tanked in July.

I know a lot more white professionals who used to work white collar jobs to the tune of $60,000 who are now scraping together a job and trying to hold onto their home or condo or loft that they overpaid for but can't afford the credit hit of a foreclosure.

How many of these first-time 30-something buyers had family (parental) financial support? That seems to be the trend here in Denver. Parents who originally paid "$35,000" for a house still valued at over $250,000 even in today's market are desperate to get their kids out of the house... for the second time.

[Hankskool]

Is there not someone that can be quoted for an article like this besides the National Association of Realtors? Please. The housing crash was almost two years under way before this trade association even acknowledged it. Here's a newsflash to those that think the housing bubble can simply be re inflated. It won't be. There simply just aren't enough buyers out there. Sell while you can, for what you can, rent for a few years and pocket the difference in the money. It's a renters market. All you are doing is renting the money from the bank to purchase it anyways. So, why not just rent a nicer house, for far cheaper than a mortgage, and realize that the difference between the rental price and mortgage can be saved and conservatively invested and more money can be made.

[EBDave]

Hankskool: Your comments about the relative value of renting & saving vs. buying would have more value if they weren't prefaced by an inaccurate assertion about the National Assoiation of Realtors. It would be nice for individuals caught up in the housing crisis to once in a while to stop blaming others and admit that they bear some responsibility for their own financial decisions.

[weebils]

This is truly amazing. I really believe the American public has gotten just what they deserve. This why I have no sympathy for the people crying about losing their homes. It is amazing that people are still falling for this. I am sure that in 5 years we will see where bankers and buyers were still fudging the numbers, lying about income, and providing false documents. Another round of people crying about how they were tricked and lied to and didn't understand what they signed. Another round of inflated real estate and banks hiding negative value. This is just plain greed and stupidity all around.

[Teadye]

This what? What are you talking about? I'm lost... I read the article and it has nothing to do with your comment.

[weebils]

The same people who spun the fantasies that lead to the housing disaster are now spinning this story. Don't believe a word of this "study".

[FreedomCorpse]

There will be no 'recovery' in the housing market for a long time, any 'news' saying otherwise is a short term statistical aberration due to some highly localized event not an indication of some national trend.

[weebils]

But people will fall for it because they are greedy suckers. It takes two in any scam. The crook and the greedy individual willing to do something illegal because they think they will gain something.

[HadBetterDays]

ones

[HadBetterDays]

oops, taxpayers

[HadBetterDays]

The $8000 tax incentive is subsidized by all tazpayers, why is it that primaily whites (85%) are able to take advantage of it? Shouldnt they make sure that the tax burden is equally distributed? Perhaps raising taxes on some groups since they are the once able to take advantage of this program?

[sonofsamphm1c]

There are more stringent lending standards, which would have nothing to do with race.

Higher lending standards mean poor people will have less access to credit. Tighter consumer protection laws will mean even less access credit for poor people.

[lemealone]

That is equally distributed, 80% of the population is white. I assume that tax base is made up of that figure from whites.

[heal57]

There will be aditiional foreclosures with the 'white' or whatever new homebuyers there are. Many of these newcomers to the market have no clue as to the real expense of owning a home. The White House and Congress are giving gifts to the Real Estate business, and as usual nothing for homeowners who have been or are in the process of being foreclosed.