How Long Are People Waiting to Buy Their First Home?

How old were you when you bought your first home? Would it surprise you to learn that people are waiting longer to jump into home ownership? The median age of first time home buyers rose by one year over the previous to 33. The median of all home buyers rose to 47 which has increased in the last three years according to the National Association of Realtors who have been conducting surveys of new home buyers.  

The overall national shortage of affordable housing paired with low mortgage rates has created an increase in housing prices across the country. This coupled with home buyers who are saddled with increasing student loans and other debts makes it more difficult to save enough for that crucial down payment. Banks are increasingly following tighter standards when choosing to extend a loan to someone with less than perfect credit. All of this has perpetuated a trend of first time home buyers getting older and older before buying their first home. 

The types of people who are deciding to buy a home is changing as well. More and more unmarried couples or even just friends and roommates are pooling their finances to buy property. With the price of homes increasing it makes it extremely difficult for lower income families to succeed in a market that is just full of pricey properties.

Nearly a third of all buyers only managed to participate in the market by receiving a gift from an outside source, such as a friend or family member, to fund their down payment. If one is lucky enough to secure a suitable down payment the choice of type of home is changing as well. Builders are having a hard time finding both affordable plots of land to build as well as enough labor to work on new homes. This leads the growing population tending to look at the available stock as opposed to building new. 

All these factors are contributing to people playing the waiting game when it comes to buying that first home.  Please visit https://www.c21hsvrealty.com/ for more information on purchasing a home in Hot Springs Village.