NAR: Homebuying increasingly a goal of the young

WASHINGTON -- Sept. 25, 2006 -- As they begin to enter the housing market, many consumers in their 20s are more likely to buy a home at a younger age than their older brothers and sisters as well as their baby boomer parents, and are not necessarily waiting for marriage or even a long-term relationship before becoming homeowners.

“The next generation of homeowners is beginning to exert its influence on the housing market,” says Thomas M. Stevens, National Association of Realtors (NAR) president. “Many younger buyers have seen the wealth-building effects of homeownership in their parents and understand the value of housing as a good long-term investment.”

The motivations interests, and homebuying approach of some younger buyers are chronicled in “Tomorrow’s Buyers: Who They Are and What They Want” in the September 2006 issue of Realtor Magazine. The report integrates NAR research with the experiences and attitudes of real-life buyers who represent different demographic populations, putting a human face on statistical trends.

The percentage of first-time homebuyers under age 25 has been increasing in response to historically low interest rates and continued confidence in the long-term housing market, from 11 percent in 2001 to 14 percent in 2005, according to the 2005 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. “Owning a home is no more burdensome than renting, and in the long term, it’s the better investment,” says Kristen Carreira, a 26-year-old homeowner in Pittsburgh.

Carreira is also part of a trend in single female homebuyers. While married couples are still the norm, they represent a smaller share of the homebuying public than they did just 10 years ago, from 70 percent of homebuyers in 1995 to 61 percent today, says NAR. During that same time, the proportion of single women buying homes has increased, from 14 percent in 1995 to 21 percent today.

Younger buyers are also likely to use technology and the Internet in their homebuying search. In 2005, according to NAR research, the median age of buyers who used the Internet to search for homes was 11 years younger than those who did not, at 38 and 49, respectively.

© 2006 FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

Questions, comments or suggestions on this article? Have a news tip? Send a letter to the editor to: Newseditor@floridarealtors.org.