Survey says . .

Lauer Flats Western Avenue St. Paul MN

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) released some some results from the most recent home buyer and home seller survey.  Here are some of the findings: 

First time home buyers make up 37% of all home buyers this is down from 50% in 2010. 

Seventy-eight percent of recent home buyers said their home is a good investment, and 45 percent believe it’s better than stocks.

The median age of first-time buyers was 31 and the median income was $62,400, up from $59,900 in the 2010 study.

The typical repeat buyer was 53 years old and earned $96,600, notably higher than the $87,000 median reported in the 2010 profile.  

The median downpayment for all home buyers was 11 percent, ranging from 5 percent for first-time buyers to 15 percent for repeat buyers.

According to the survey buyers searched for a home for a median of 12 weeks and visited 12 homes.  

The typical home seller was 53 years old and their income was $101,500 and had lived in their home an average of 9 years.   First-time buyers plan to stay for 10 years and repeat buyers plan to hold their property for 15 years.

The one thing that surprised me in the survey is that 51% purchased in a suburb and 18% purchased in an urban area.  

I wasn’t surprised to learn that 40% of buyers found their home on the internet, followed by 35% from an agent and 11% from a for sale sign.  

“Commuting costs continue to factor strongly in decisions regarding location, with 73 percent of buyers saying transportation costs were important”

The buyers I worked with this year were mainly first time home buyers and they all bought homes in the city . . could be because I mostly work in the city and it is a national study but real estate is local.