Who Have Been Buying Homes in the U.S. These Past Months?

Published by nora | Filed under Buyer / Seller Tips, Market Trends, Miscellaneous, Real Estate

If you know who your potential homebuyers are, then you would know how to look for them and how to tailor your website and other marketing techniques to attract them.

You can learn about the demographics of homebuyers over the past months across the country from the National Association of Realtors which conducted its homeownership survey last July. It gathered information from homeowners who bought their homes within the period from July last year to June this year.

Take a look at the following findings and see if you can adapt your marketing and sales strategies to the needs and desires of the typical homebuyer:

. A large percentage of first time homebuyers were young people who had accumulated savings for downpayment.

NAR found that the average age of first time buyers over the past months was 30. Most probably they were married, as 58 percent of all types homebuyers were married. Most have saved money for future needs, as 74 percent of first-time buyers used their savings to pay their downpayments. Some of them were backed by their parents, friends and other relatives, as 27 percent used cash gifts to fill their downpayment kitty.

. The typical repeat homebuyer was 49 in age and his or her annual income was $87,000.

He or she was most probably married because married buyers accounted for 58 percent of all buyers.

. First-time buyers bought homes in the $152,000 range while repeat buyers bought homes in the $215,000 range.

As expected, first time buyers preferred the lower-cost homes as their median annual income was $59,900, about 31 percent lower than the median income of second- or third-home buyers, which was $87,000. Most entry-level buyers also used FHA loans to finance their purchase.

.Most homeowners bought their homes because of their desire to own a home.

The homeownership dream is still prevalent among Americans despite what happened in the housing sector. They want a home for the family, a home they can claim as their own. Nearly one-third of all respondents said they purchased a home to fulfill their desire of owning a home.

. Most homeowners still believe that buying a home is a good investment decision.

Of the respondents, 85 percent believe that homes are good investments and that nearly 50 percent believe that homes are more reliable than stocks. This finding means that a lot of people are looking at home buying in the long term.

With these demographics and buyer profiles, you can look at your present marketing and sales tactics and check if you’re serving what prospective homebuyers are looking for.