Written By: Karen Deis
The Chinese New Year says it’s the Year of the Ox.
In real estate and mortgage lending, it’s the Year Of The First Time Home Buyer!
Every year, LoanOfficerMagazine.com not only gives you all the survey stats for the NAR’s Profile of Home Buyers & Home Sellers, but interprets them for you so you can identify trends and more importantly, where you should spend your time and your money—if one of your niche markets are first-time home buyers!
Overall, FTHB represent 41% of all home purchases. This is an increase of 2% over last year’s survey. But what has really changed is the method being used to find their first home, their first real estate agent and their lender! Yep, you guessed it — it's online and social networking sites.
FTHB are 20% MORE likely to purchase a foreclosure than repeat buyers. They also move an average distance of 13 miles from their previous residence. So if you are marketing to apartment complexes, consider the location of the complex and compare it to the surrounding (affordable) homes as a guide in choosing the complexes to market to.
This article compares 2007 to 2008. After reading this article, share this information with real estate agents (and builders) by downloading the white paper called: What You Need to Know About First-Time Home Buyers (2008 NAR Survey Results). You can print and distribute or cut and past and send as an email!
With rates low, housing prices falling and more lenders offering FHA loans, it’s the PERFECT STORM for you to get your share of the FTHB purchase market.
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