NAR 2011 Home Buyer Survey Results – First Time Home Buyer Statistics

National Association of Realtors® 2011 Home Buyer Survey Results – First-Time Home Buyer Statistics.

The 2011 NAR report called “Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers 2011” has just been released, with a huge amount of information that will help you plan where you should be spending your time and your marketing dollars!  While this info is from 2011, what it does is identify trends.

In 2010, 51% of all home purchases were made by FTHB.  In 2011, it was 37%.  The 2010 numbers are skewed because of the First-Time Home Buyer Credit offering.

Overall, the numbers have significantly changed from 2011.  The entire report provides stats on first-time buyers, repeat buyers, FSBO, and investors, but this article is just about first-time home buyers with a little commentary from me on why the information is critical in your business planning efforts.

• Over one-third of all homebuyers are buying for the first time.  Read on because you’ll also learn how a huge percentage of FTHB find you and the home they want to buy.  I suggest that you align your marketing with the way FTHB find information – but more on that later.
• 77% of first-time buyers rented an apartment or a home prior to buying their first home.  Marketing to apartment complexes is still the number one way to market to and get leads from FTHB.
• 48% of FTHB were married.  The other 52% are categorized by “unmarried couples,” “single men” and “single women.”  If you hold first-time buyer seminars, consider segmenting them into “singles only” or “couples only” events.  Each segment has its own set of home buying and loan approval issues.
• Some areas are more affordable than others, but 48% of FTHB purchased a home $150,000 or less.  If you have listings in this price range, you may want to ask your sellers if they can offer home buyer incentives, like paying for closing costs.
• The average distance that a buyer has moved is 12 miles away from where they were previously living.  So, if you are considering marketing to apartment complexes, check to see if there are affordable ($150,000) homes within that 12-mile radius.
• Based on the information sources FTBH used, you may want to reallocate some of your marketing dollars to online marketing and open houses instead of printed ads.
  • 92% searched for homes on the web
  • 88% searched for real estate agents online
  • 53% used yard signs
  • 40% went to open houses
  • 28% used newspaper ads
  • 17% used homes magazines
  • When it comes to mortgage financing, 95% of the mortgages were fixed-rate type loans. In addition, 26% of FTHB say they got at least a portion of their down payment from a gift.  Since Fannie, Freddie, FHA and VA have their own “gift fund rules,” please call me if your clients tell you they will be getting their down payment as a gift.

So, think about creating a marketing campaign with  your real estate agents that exclusively targets first-time home buyers.  And a little shameless plub here, if you are looking to purchase apartment complex mailing lists, www.ApartmentToolKit.com Karen Deis 800-535-3343