According to the latest information gathered in the "2004 National Association of Realtors Profile of Home Buyers And Sellers," household compositions are changing slightly.
While singles are growing in every category, they are dropping off as homebuyers. The NAR survey suggests that married couples represented 62 percent of homebuying households, making up the drop in single-person homebuyers. Both male and female-headed households dropped three percentage points.
Since 1995, the share of married-couple homebuyers has trended down from a high of 70 percent but is creeping upward from 59 percent in 2003 to 62 percent in 2004.
The share of single female buyers has increased from 14 percent in 1995 to 21 percent in 2003 to 18 percent in 2004 of homebuying households, says the NAR. Single male buyers dropped from 11 percent in 2003 to eight percent in 2004. Unmarried couples rose one percentage point.
Also, the number of households with children under 18 rose from 38 percent in 2003 to 43 percent in 2004, yet half of all homebuyers still have no children living at home.
Ethnicities
Although whites make up the majority of homeowners nationally (84 percent) certain regions of the country such as the West have higher numbers of Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic/Latino, and other homebuyers. Hispanic homebuyers were nearly double in the West over the South and were 2.5 times more prevalent in the South than the Northeast or Midwest. Asians in the West are triple the share of other regions. The South and Midwest had higher shares of African-American homebuyers than the Northeast or West.
Ninety-five percent of homebuyers spoke English as the primary language of the household, with only the West reporting a percentage point lower.
First-time Buyers
Forty percent of homebuyers were first-timers in 2004, the same as in 2003, which is an increase along with the overall pace of home sales due most likely to favorable and affordable loan programs and other buyer incentives.
First-time homebuyers are typically 32 years of age, while repeat buyers are about 45 years of age. The median income of first-timers is $54,500, while that of repeat buyers is $79,100.
Not surprisingly, first-timers (80 percent) stated that the number one reason for making a housing change was to own their own homes.
Published: November 12, 2004
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