In honor of National Homeownership Month, we wanted to share a few interesting statistics from the National Association of Realtors research team with you. These statistics come from a survey sent to buyers who purchased a primary residence home between July 2022 & June 2023.

Who is buying & why?

Millennials (ages 25-43) made up the largest share of home buyers at 38% and the median age of a first-time home buyer was 35 years old.

Gen X (ages 44-58) were more likely to buy multi-generational homes to help care for aging parents (27%) or for cost savings (22%). Other top reasons to buy a multi-generational home include having children or relatives over 18 moving back into the house, spending more time with aging parents, and having children or relatives over 18 who never left home.

For home buyers under 59 years old, the main reason for purchasing was the desire to own a home of their own or because they wanted a larger home.

Home buyers over age 59 were more likely to purchase a home that was closer to family, friends, and relatives or to downsize to a smaller home.

Who is selling & why?

Most home sales were from Baby Boomers (45%) followed by Gen X & Millennials at 23% each and over 70% of home sales were from repeat sellers.

Baby Boomers & the Silent Generation were likely to sell their home to move closer to friends and family or simply to downsize while Millennials were more likely to sell their home because it was too small or there was a change in their family situation (marriage, divorce, birth of a child, etc.)

Most Millennials lived in their previous home for 4-5 years while many Boomers & Silent Generation had lived in their previous homes for 20+ years.

What did they buy?

Most buyers purchased previously owned homes with only 13% of buyers choosing to purchase a new home.

The biggest reason to purchase a new home (45%) was that buyers were looking to avoid renovations and problems with plumbing or electricity. Other reasons to purchase a new home included the ability to choose & customize design features, the amenities of new home construction communities, and energy efficiency.

Factors that influenced where buyers purchased included the quality of the neighborhood, convenience to family and friends, and overall affordability of homes available. Over 50% of younger buyers (18-43) included convenience to job as a major factor while over 30% of older buyers (59-98) included convenience to healthcare facilities as a major factor.

About The Search…

Among all generations of home buyers, the first step taken in the home search process was to look online for properties for 2-3 weeks before contacting a real estate agent. The Silent Generation contacted a real estate agent as a first step more often than other generations.

Buyers on average spent 10 weeks looking for a home.

More than half of home buyers (59%) said the most difficult step in the home buying process was finding the right property, followed by paperwork (18%), understanding the process and steps (17%), and saving for a down payment (17%). According to 17% of buyers, there were no difficult steps.

Working With Agents…

Of those surveyed, 89% of buyers and sellers worked with a real estate agent.

Buyers cited help finding the right home to purchase (50%), negotiating the terms of the sale (12%), and pricing negotiations (11%) as what they wanted most from agents.

Sellers cited help selling the home in a specific timeframe (22%), pricing the home competitively (21%), and marketing the home to potential buyers (20%) as what they wanted most from agent.

Referrals remain the primary way most people find their real estate agent with 43% of buyers & 39% of sellers saying they were referred to their agent by a friend, neighbor or relative. Another 13% of buyers & 26% of sellers said they worked with an agent who had previously helped them buy or sell a home.

Of course, every transaction is its own unique experience with no 2 buyers or sellers having the same experience. Whether you're looking to stop renting & buy your first home or thinking about selling your home to move out of state, we've helped clients through it all. Our team has the knowledge & experience to walk you through every step of the process from finding the right lender for your purchase to helping you buy a home from out of state.

Call us at (434) 214-6121 to see how we can help you decide if home ownership is the right step for you.