Over the years I’ve written articles about the changing demographics of home buyers and what investors need to know to be ahead of the curve. There is some new data that further supports the changes happening in the market.
The three types of buyers we see most prominently in the market today are: all-cash buyers, first-time home buyers, and 55+ buyers.
First-time home buyers are still the largest single segment of the market with 39% of the market; this is up 2% from last year but down from 2010 and 2009 (that is when buyers were taking advantage of the home buyer tax credit). First time home buyers are still very active because of low interest rates; however the continuing tightening of lending standards has played a role in the drop we’ve seen in this segment.
All cash buyers are also a very large segment of the market. They have increased to 30 percent of sales where they were only 10 percent of the market over a decade ago. Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the NAR (National Association of Realtors) said, “We’ve seen a tremendous increase in cash buyers since… Continue Reading
