By Jann Swanson | Mortgage News Daily
The downward-drifting participation of first-time homebuyers over the past few years has brought their share of the home buying market to its lowest point in nearly three decades the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) said today. The absence of this critical market force, NAR said, is preventing a healthier housing market from reaching its full potential.
NAR’s survey of which evaluates the demographics, preferences, motivations, plans, and experiences of recent homebuyers and sellers, has been conducted since 1981. Over the long term of the survey four of ten primary owner-occupied home purchases have been made by first-timers. The 2014 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers growing out of that survey puts the first time buyer share this year at 33 percent, down 5 percentage points from last year and the lowest share since 1987 where first time buyers bought only 30 percent of the homes sold.
