The 2009 National Association of REALTORS Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers Highlights

Characteristics of Home Buyers

- Forty-seven percent of recent home buyers were first-time buyers.

- The typical first-time home buyer was 30 years old, while the typical repeat buyer was 48 years old.

- The 2008 median household income of buyers was $73,100. The median income was $61,600 among first-time buyers and $88,100 among repeat buyers.

- Twenty-one percent of recent home buyers were single females, and 10 percent were single males.

- For one-third of recent home buyers, the primary reason for the recent home purchase was a desire to own a home.

Characteristics of Homes Purchased

-  New home purchases were at the lowest level in eight years—down to 18 percent of all recent home purchases.

-  The typical home purchased was 1,800 square feet in size and was built in 1991.

-  Seventy-eight percent of home buyers purchased a detached single- family home.

-  The median price of home purchased was $210,000 in the Northeast, $158,000 in the Midwest, $175,000 in the South, and $240,000 in the West.

-  When considering the purchase of a home, commuting costs were considered very or somewhat important by 78 percent of buyers.
the home searCh ProCess

-  For more than one-third of home buyers, the first step in the home-buying process was looking online for properties.

-  Nine in ten home buyers and 94 used the Internet to search for homes.

-  Real estate agents were viewed as a very useful information source by 81 percent of buyers who used an agent while searching for a home.

-  The typical home buyer searched for 12 weeks and viewed 12 homes.

Home Buying and Real Estate Professionals

-  Seventy-seven percent of buyers purchased their home through a real estate agent or broker.

-  Ten percent of buyers purchased a home in foreclosure, up from 3 percent in 2008.

-  Forty-four percent of buyers found their agent through a referral from a friend or family member.