Recent Stats On New Home Buyers And U.S. Home Sales

Despite the negative media concerning the housing market in the U.S., recent data shows that there are some changes happening across the country concerning who is buying what property in a particular region. According to a random survey of agents in HouseHunt’s “Current Market Conditions,” nearly one-half of all homes sales were from first-time homebuyers during the first quarter of 2008.

New Home Buyers Now Buying Half Of Homes For Sale

This latest national survey showed an increase of seven percentage points over the fourth quarter of 2007, making first-time buyers 46 percent of the homebuyer population. In the past, only about one-third of all buyers were first-timers.

California, Florida and Texas accounted for much of the first-time buyer activity, up 25 percent, 12 percent and 26 percent, respectively, while the Chicago metro area decreased by 22 percent.

Why Are There So Many First-Time Home Buyers On The Market?

Why has the number of first-time homebuyers increased so much in the last few months? Michael Bearden, CEO of HouseHunt, Inc., said, “Stepped up activity by first-time buyers around the country is not surprising, give the widespread home price declines from foreclosures and other negative market pressures…[there are] record numbers of Internet leads from people looking for home, so the pent-up demand is there.”

However, despite the number of buyers, there are still a huge number of homes for sale. Sellers outnumbered buyers by 55 percent to 32 percent, while 55 percent of agents surveyed reported that the inventory of unsold homes is up over the past year. “The challenge,” said Bearden, “is to convince sellers sitting on the sidelines that they have to reduce the price of their homes to be able to purchase another home -- also at a reduced price -- and at favorable financing rates.”

How New Home Buyers Will Affect Real Estate Future

What does the future hold for the housing market? So far, it looks like good news for those who have been trying to sell homes. The National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said, “Existing home sales could start to show a sustained increase within a few months, barring additional economic problems.”

On top of this, lowered interest rates from the Federal government means more people, particularly first-time buyers, can afford to purchase a home. “The wider access to affordable credit,” said Yun, “should increase sales activity, notably this summer as pent-up demand begins to be met.” Since February, there has been around a 9.6-month supply of homes available on the market. If you are considering buying a new home, do not wait for new buyers to take advantage.