Amazing Homeownership Stats

When it comes to buying a home, whether you’re a first-time homebuyer or a return buyer, knowing what is going on in the market is going to help you make a more informed decision about your home purchase. Knowledge about current trends in the market will give you a vital 'snapshot' of where mortgages are currently, who you’ll be bidding against on homes and an idea of what’s going on in the sellers’ minds.

Of course, there's such a thing as too much information. The modern housing sector is built on a near-constant flow of statistics and information, almost in real time, which can overwhelm even experienced homebuyers. The solution is simple: Focus on the information that matters most.

With that in mind, we will look at information on where the housing market stands from the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) . We'll discuss who's buying, their relative levels of satisfaction with the homebuying process, and much more. So, let's dive in!

Who is buying houses?

The term 'homebuyer' is a general one that breaks down into a number of sub-groups. Age, family dynamics and marital status can all form separate puzzle pieces that collectively add up to a picture of the homebuying experience.

It's important to note that, while many statistics remained in the general neighborhood of what they were for the previous year, the percentage of first-time homebuyers improved by a significant amount in this report. However, it is still amongst the lowest percentages for first-time homebuyers in four decades.

• First-time buyers made up 32% of all homebuyers , an increase from last year's 26%.
• The typical first-time buyer was 35 years old this year, down one year from 2022’s high of 36. The typical repeat-buyer age rose to 58 years old, also down from last year’s 59.
• 14% of homebuyers purchased a multi-generational home , to take care of aging parents, because of children over the age of 18 moving back home and for cost-saving.
• 16% of recent homebuyers were veterans and 2% were active-duty service members.

Home searches in the digital age

The pandemic created a need for digital tools to replace IRL home shopping. This rise in popularity of digital tools and virtual home walkthroughs continues to have an increasing impact on how potential homebuyers shop for their homes. The ease of being able to qualify a home by street level, price and floor plan — all before ever stepping foot in the home — cannot be overstated. This has had the effect of raising the bar for the overall homebuying experience.

• For 41% of recent buyers , the first step that they took in the homebuying process was to look online at properties for sale, while 20% of buyers first contacted a real estate agent.
• Buyers typically searched for 10 weeks, looked at a median of 7 homes and viewed 4 of these homes only online . The amount of time buyers took to find their home remains unchanged from last year.
• All buyers used online tools in the search process . While it’s not surprising how much online tools have become central to the homebuying process, it is still surprising that this statistic reach 100% this year, up 4% from last year.
• 92% of recent buyers were at least somewhat satisfied with their homebuying experience.

And to match this virtual home shopping experience, we have created digital tools that make financing the home purchase just as simple. You can use our online application to get pre-approved for a loan quickly, and our Same Day Mortgage can shave days off the application process.

The role of real estate agents

Even with the digital assets we mentioned above, the role that real estate agents play in the overall homebuying process remains a foundational one. It's their blend of marketplace IQ, industry expertise and property insight that has shepherded many an inexperienced homebuyer to find, and acquire, the home of their dreams.

This underscores the importance of working with experts in your area, who know the local housing market.

• 89% of buyers recently purchased their home through a real estate agent or broker, and 6% purchased directly from the homeowner.
• 71% of buyers interviewed only one real estate agent during their home search.
• Having an agent to help them find the right home was what buyers wanted most when choosing an agent at 50% .
• 90% of buyers would use their agent again or recommend their agent to others.

To finance or not to finance

While financing remains the most popular option when deciding how to pay for a home, especially among first-time homebuyers, the overall percentage of homebuyers financing their homes dropped by 9% among recent buyers.

• 80% of recent buyers financed their home purchase, similar to last year’s 78% but still down from 87% in 2021.
• First-time buyers who financed their home typically contributed 8% as down payment of their home compared to repeat buyers at 19% . The down payment for first-timers was the highest percentage it’s been since 1997, while repeat offenders saw their highest percentage since 2005.
• For 54% of buyers , the source of the down payment came from their savings. 53% of buyers cited using the proceeds from the sale of a primary residence while 23% of first-time buyers used a gift or loan from friends or family for the down payment.

Obviously, the down payment is a big hurdle for first-time homebuyers. That’s why we offer OneDown, which allows many buyers to contribute just one percent of the home’s purchase price as down payment.

Emerging seller trends

No discussion of the housing market would be complete without a look at the emerging habits of sellers. After all, buying and selling a house are two sides of the same coin.

While sellers maintained an iron-clad hold on the market during the pandemic and for a short while after, buyers these days can afford to be more particular in their home search due to the cooling off of property prices in some markets, along with a slight uptick in home inventory and new home construction. Still, much of the buyer/seller power dynamic still resides with the seller.

• For all sellers, the most commonly cited reason for selling their home was the desire to move closer to friends and family (23%), because the home is too small (13%) or a family/lifestyle change like a marriage, divorce or new baby (10%) .
• 86% of home sellers worked with a real estate agent to sell their home.
• For recently sold homes, the final sales price was a median of 100% of the final listing price , the highest recorded since 2002.
• According to Redfin, as many as 43% of sellers offered incentives to attract buyers , like offering money for repairs, closing costs or other concessions like a mortgage rate buydown.

One of the most popular seller concessions is offering a buydown like RateReduce, which lowers the mortgage payments for the buyer. RateReduce offers three types of buydowns: RateReduce Temp, RateReduce Perm and RateReduce Sell**. All three are a great option for sellers looking to make their home more marketable.

Marital status and homeownership

The narrative around women and homeownership is an increasingly optimistic one, with single females continuing to gain leverage in their pursuit of owning a home — nearly twice that of single males. As you might guess, married couples make up the majority of new home sales, but we've seen an upward trend in unmarried couples buying homes.

• The share of single women buyers rose slightly to 19%, and single males held steady at 10%{: target="b".
• Unmarried couples made up 9% of recent buyers.

A snapshot in time

So, that's a look at the statistics, which we hope can give you some insight into the current housing marketplace to help you plan and strategize on your own personal homebuying journey. Of course, as we've seen before, no set of stats can account for every economic factor with the potential to reshape market forces. Still, we believe this snapshot of the state of things will prove valuable to you.

A major takeaway from all this is simply that the housing market is still going strong. While some factors have shifted here and there, overall the statistics are remarkably similar to the previous year, which is highly positive news for those looking to finally have the home of their dreams.

Source: 2023 National Association of REALTORS® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers

Applicant subject to credit and underwriting approval. Not all applicants will be approved for financing. Receipt of application does not represent an approval for financing or interest rate guarantee. Restrictions may apply, contact Guaranteed Rate for current rates and for more information. All information provided in this publication is for informational and educational purposes only, and in no way is any of the content contained herein to be construed as financial, investment, or legal advice or instruction. Guaranteed Rate, Inc. does not guarantee the quality, accuracy, completeness or timelines of the information in this publication. While efforts are made to verify the information provided, the information should not be assumed to be error free. Some information in the publication may have been provided by third parties and has not necessarily been verified by Guaranteed Rate, Inc. Guaranteed Rate, Inc. its affiliates and subsidiaries do not assume any liability for the information contained herein, be it direct, indirect, consequential, special, or exemplary, or other damages whatsoever and howsoever caused, arising out of or in connection with the use of this publication or in reliance on the information, including any personal or pecuniary loss, whether the action is in contract, tort (including negligence) or other tortious action. Guaranteed Rate does not provide tax advice. Please contact your tax adviser for any tax related questions.

Applicant subject to credit and underwriting approval. Not all applicants will be approved for financing. Receipt of application does not represent an approval for financing or interest rate guarantee. Restrictions may apply. *Savings, if any, vary based on the consumer’s credit profile, interest rate availability, and other factors. Contact Guaranteed Rate for current rates. Restrictions apply.

*Both temporary and permanent RateReduce options are available from participating builders and sellers on select properties. The 1.5/.5 temporary buydown option is not available for VA loans.

** Sellers may sign a RateReduce Sell Agreement with Guaranteed Rate to secure a 60-day rate lock on seller's departing residence by paying an upfront fee (higher fee for high balance loans): rate will be locked for 60 days; giving the seller 30 days to secure a buyer and the buyer 30 days to close the loan. Seller is required to contribute seller-paid points which must be applied towards a permanent rate buy down only. The seller must make a minimum buydown contribution of 2% and could elect up to a 9% buydown contribution subject to applicable state and federal laws, product guidelines, and future product eligibility if changes occur prior to closing. Upfront lock fee may be refundable if the buyer's loan closes. If the lock expires, is cancelled, or if the borrower withdraws and a new borrower is not found within the lock time parameters, then the upfront fee will not be refunded to the seller. Eligible for fixed rate, purchase transactions only. Seller must acquire a binding purchase contract for departing residence. Minimum FICO score and down payment requirements apply. Applicants subject to credit and underwriting approval. Buyer's interest rate may be higher depending on their qualifying information. Additional restrictions apply.