Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends

Posted March 11, 2015

By the National Association of Realtors 

"Fixed monthly payments and the long-term financial stability homeownership can provide are attractive to young adults despite [their] witnessing the housing downturn," says NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. Yun says the share of millennial purchases would likely be higher if not for a these four factors: underemployment, subpar wage growth, rising rents, and student debt. All four make it difficult to save for a down payment, he says. "For some, even forming households of their own has been a challenge."

2015 Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends

Highlights

• Gen Y comprises the largest share of home buyers at 32 percent, which is larger than all Baby Boomers combined.
• Gen Y also has the largest share of first-time buyers at 68 percent.
• Thirteen percent of all buyers purchased a multi-generational home, one in which the home consists of adult children over the age of 18, and/or grandparents residing in the home.
• At least 80 percent of buyers who are aged 59 and younger bought a detached single-family home, while it is increasingly common for buyers over the age of 59 to purchase townhouses and condos.
• The older the home buyer, the fewer compromises the buyer tended to make with their home purchase—48 percent of the Silent Generation made no compromises on their home purchase.
• Among all generations of home buyers, the first step in the home buying process is looking online for properties for sale.
• Younger generations of buyers typically find the home they purchase through the internet, while older generations of buyers first found the home they purchased through their real estate agent.