Tag Archives: First-Time Homebuyers

If it wasn't for cash sales during the housing downturn, sales today would look much weaker, and the dramatic price declines over the past few years would have been even steeper, CoreLogic reported Tuesday. From 2000 to 2005, cash sales remained steady, representing around 25 percent of all sales. When the real estate market crashed in 2007 and 2008, the share of cash sales, driven by the rise in REO sales, jumped and eventually peaked above 40 percent two years ago. For 19 straight months now, cash sales have been declining.

Repeat buyers and sellers averaged a higher score when measuring customer satisfaction compared to first-time homebuyers, according to a study from J.D. Power. For the year, repeat homebuyers averaged a score of 817 out of 1,000, while the score for repeat sellers was 803. On the other hand, the score for first-time buyers and sellers was 797. The study also found first-time homebuyers have been more active this year, representing 49 percent of buyers in 2013 compared to 40 percent in 2012.

Existing-home sales rose 0.6 percent in April to an annual sales rate of 4.97 million, the highest level since November 2009, the National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday. The median price of an existing single-family home jumped $8,900 in the month to $192,800, the highest since August 2008. The inventory of homes for sale rose to 2.16 million--its highest level since last September. The supply of homes for sale rose to 5.2 months, the highest since October. Inventory has been a persistent concern to NAR, which says the low supply of homes for sale has reduced the number of transactions.

Investors aren't the only major players driving the housing recovery. According to results from the Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey for March, first-time homebuyers and current homeowners are also building a strong presence as they dominate the non-distressed market. Investors accounted for 13.3 percent of the market share for non-distressed properties, while current homeowners represented 50 percent of the market. First-time homebuyers also made up a significant portion at 36.8 percent.

Interest from first-time homebuyers is steadily growing due to concerns over rising interest rates and prices, while investor interest remains strong, according to results from the Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey. The survey found first-time homebuyers accounted for 34.5 percent of home purchase transactions in February, leading to the second monthly increase. Meanwhile, investor purchases reached a four-month high after accounting for 34.5 percent of transactions in February, according to the survey results.

Redfin's latest survey shows a shortage of inventory and rising prices--both of which naturally benefit sellers--are creating frustration for buyers trying to get in on the ground floor of the housing recovery. According to Redfin's findings, 79 percent of buyers who responded to the survey now believe home prices will increase in their neighborhood over the next year, up from 71 percent in Q4 2012. The share of buyers who believe prices will rise ""a lot"" more than doubled, increasing to 22 percent from 10 percent previously.

The price gap between non-distressed properties and damaged REOs is widening, according to results from the January Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking survey. According to the survey, while non-distressed property prices have risen to their highest level in three years, damaged REOs, or bank-owned properties in need of repair, fell in January. The survey also found that while the investor share of purchases for damaged REOs has increased, interest for properties in that category has waned among current and first-time homebuyers.

Winter weather did not slow down the housing market's momentum, with homebuyer traffic still going strong in December, according to survey results from Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey. The three homebuyer groups--current homeowners, first-time homebuyers and investors--all recorded their biggest traffic gains of 2012 in December, data from the HousingPulse survey revealed. The survey also measured the relative health of the housing market by assessing time on market, number of offers, closed transactions, and sales prices. Overall, survey data revealed all measures improved at the end of 2012.

The share of distressed properties is shrinking and home prices are rising, but first-time homebuyers aren't benefiting from the improvements, according to findings from a survey. In the most recent Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulseTracking survey, the first-time homebuyer share for home purchases was found to be 34.7 percent in October. The figure is a decrease from 37.1 percent in June and the lowest share in the survey's three-year history. The decrease coincides with a significant rise in purchases for non-distressed properties.

Home prices and home sales are rising, despite lackluster demand of traditional owner-occupied housing, according to Tim Rood of The Collingwood Group. Rood points out that median home prices and the number of home sales are both nearly 10 percent above what they were one year ago. This rise is not spurred by owner-occupants, the traditional ""backbone of the U.S. housing market,"" according to Rood. Purchases by owner-occupants declined 15.5 percent in 2011, while investment and vacation home sales increased by 7 percent.