Tag Archives: Jessica Lautz

NAR reports that homebuyer income has seen an annual increase of 22% in 2023, as down payments have jumped to the highest percentage in over two decades.

"Home buyers face the most difficult affordability conditions in nearly 40 years due to limited inventory and rising mortgage interest rates," said Jessica Lautz, NAR's Deputy Chief Economist and VP of research. Read on for details from a new NAR study.

NAR polled more than 176,000 executives and senior management officials at real estate firms and found that housing affordability has left fewer buyers able to purchase a home due to the rise in prices and interest rates, as many potential sellers remain in place rather than choosing to sell.

A profile of NAR members has found that nearly 60% of agents found that the biggest factor holding back the housing market over the past year was a lack of supply.

An examination of institutional home buyers by NAR found that this segment of buyers comprised 13.2% of the nation’s residential property sales in 2021, up from 11.8% in 2020.