Tag Archives: First-Time Homebuyers

In 19 of 20 large metros surveyed by Zillow and Pulsenomics, more than 5.0 percent of local residents indicated they wanted to buy a home in the next year, with current renters showing the greatest interest in ownership. While this optimistic total from Zillow suggests interest is high, actually purchasing a home should prove to be a challenge in the upcoming year.

According to the National Association of Realtors' Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends study for 2014, Millennials—aka “Generation Y” or “Generation Next”—comprised 31 percent of recent purchases, leading all other age groups. Following that were Generation X (defined as those born between 1965 and 1979), which made up 30 percent.

Outstanding home finance balances increased for the third straight month in January, signaling what might be the start of a long-term resurgence in borrowing, Equifax reported in its most recent National Consumer Credit Trends release. “American consumers have shed more than $1.5 trillion in mortgage debt since the start of the financial crisis and only now seem interested in investing in housing again,” said Amy Crews Cutts, chief economist.

In a February survey of nearly 2,000 homebuyers, Redfin found that 16 percent of first-timers (who made up about half of the total survey group) have been held back from purchasing in the past by student loan debts. Out of all homebuyers surveyed, one-third said student debt had led them to put off purchasing for one to two years, while slightly less than that said they had to delay for four years or more.

Yes, affordability (as measured by the National Association of Realtors' Housing Affordability Index) is down as much as 22 percent from its January 2013 peak, but is still far higher than it was in the early 2000s, says CoreLogic chief economist Mark Fleming in the company's February MarketPulse report. Moreover, Fleming notes the problem of "unaffordable housing" is one that only really exists for first-time homebuyers.

Having fallen to 16.6 percent in August, investor share in the purchase market picked up to 18.8 percent (based on a three-month rolling average), according to the latest survey. Investors increased their purchases of non-distressed properties; although, they remained the biggest purchasers of distressed properties. HousingPulse reports investors contributed to 13.2 percent of non-distressed home sales in November, marking a seven-month high.

Confidence in housing among the Realtor crowd increased slightly in November, though concerns about credit availability continue to temper that optimism. A survey from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) shows that among who reported transactions in November but ultimately did not close a sale, 9 percent said the homebuyer could not obtain financing, and of those, 6 percent reported the buyer gave up on purchasing the home. If lenders returned to "normal" credit standards, NAR says as many as 500,000 more sales could occur.

As prices continue rising in the new year--albeit at a slower pace--investors will begin to ease back from the purchase market, but repeat home buyers will be there to pick up the slack, according to Trulia's predictions. "2013 was the year of the investor, but 2014 will be the year of the repeat home buyer," said Jed Kolko, chief economist at Trulia. Other changes to the market in the new year include lower affordability, "less frenzied" home-buying, and a shift in the rental market from single-family homes to urban apartments.

The housing recovery continued as expected in 2013, but that's not to say there weren't a few surprises. "[T]he recovery accelerated a lot faster than we anticipated, which was great for sellers and for the 75 million homeowners who saw their home values appreciate," said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors (NAR), in a post titled "7 Housing Trends for 2013." Another surprise for Yun was the large portion of cash purchases.

Customer satisfaction with mortgage loan originators reached a seven-year high this year with Quicken Loans earning the highest ranking for the fourth year in a row, according to the J.D. Power 2013 U.S. Primary Mortgage Origination Satisfaction Study. Five originators earned scores above the industry average. Topping the list was Quicken Loans with a score of 841 out of 1000. The remaining four lenders to outrank the industry average are BB&T (798), U.S. Bank (783), PNC Mortgage (778), and Chase (773).