Young Buyers Exert Influence on Housing Market

Consumers in their 20s are more likely to become home owners at a younger age than their baby boomer parents. They’re not necessarily waiting for marriage, or even a long-term relationship, before becoming buying a home.
REALTOR® Magazine Online
“The next generation of home owners is beginning to exert its influence on the housing market,” said Thomas M. Stevens, president of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® and senior vice president of NRT Inc. “Many younger buyers have seen the wealth-building effects of home ownership 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,” a report in the September issue of REALTOR® Magazine.

The article puts a human face on statistical trends, integrating NAR research with the experiences and attitudes of real-life buyers who represent different demographic groups.

The percentage of first-time home buyers 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,” said Kristen Carreira, a 26-year-old homeowner in Pittsburgh.

Carreira is also part of a trend in single female home buyers. While married couples are still the norm, they represent a smaller share of the home buying public than they did just 10 years ago, from 70 percent of home buyers 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 home buying 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.

“REALTORS® have adapted to meet the needs of this growing population,” Stevens says. “A commitment to understanding the demands of this changing marketplace is just one more way REALTORS® add value to the real estate transaction.”

More than one-third of NAR’s 1.3 million members have had special training and lots of experience in buyer representation and technology. That expertise is reflected in special designations and certifications, such as the Accredited Buyer Representative (ABR®) designation and e-PRO certification.