Realty Times February 15, 2000

Married Homebuyers Advancing Over Single Buyers
by Realty Times Staff

Chicago Title Company is out with its 24th annual statistical abstract of "Who's Buying Homes in America," a cornucopia of numbers that look at the American home buyer from every conceivable view - a valuable resource for real estate agents who want to know what markets are developing.

For instance, according to CTC the summary of data from 1999 show that for first time in several years, market share for both single and first-time buyers dropped, "showing the impact of rising interest rates and revealing married and repeat buyers as the unequivocal leaders" in the current home buying market.

Comparing married buyers to single, never-married buyers, the breakdown was:

  • The number of married buyers increased 7.3 percent in 1999, from 1,390,000 to 1,491,6000, while the numbers of single, never-married buyers increased by only 3.0 percent, from 377,900 to 389,400.

  • Also, married buyers made 67.8 percent of all home purchases in 1999, up slightly from 67.0 percent in 1998, while single, never-married buyers lost market share from 18.2 percent in 1998 to 17.7 percent in 1999.

    According to the CTC survey, repeat buyers lead the way compared to first-time home buyers.

  • Repeat buyers increased 9.0 percent in 1999, from 1,116,300 to 1,216,600, while first-time buyers increased just 2.6 percent, from 958,700 to 983,400.

  • Of the total number of homes sold in 1999, 55.3 percent were bought by repeat buyers, up from 53.8 percent in 1998, while first-time buyers experienced a loss in market share, from 46.2 percent to 44.7 percent.

    The survey polled a representative sample of some 1,800 home buyers in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Memphis, Miami, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York, Orange County California, Orlando and Philadelphia.

    In those markets, the CTC report goes into even more detail, showing, for instance, that in San Francisco first-time buyers were paying the highest prices in the country, about $325,000; while first-time buyers in Houston were paying $88,900.

    Repeat buyers in San Francisco paid an average of $416,700, again the highest in the country; while repeat buyers in Orlando paid the lowest average, about $127,300. The report also breaks out home buying by race.

    It found that among African American home buyers, 59.4 percent were buying for the first time and 40.6 percent were repeat buyers.

  • Among Asians, 74.3 percent were first-time home buyers and 25.7 were repeat buyers.

  • Among Hispanics, 63.0 percent were first-time buyers and 37 percent were repeat buyers.

  • Among whites, 41.2 percent were first-time buyers and 58.8 percent repeat buyers.

    Also See:

  • The Changing Face of Homeownership
  • Job-hunting Strategies for Trailing Spouses
  • Home Sweet Home: Shelter From Taxes
  • Homeownership, Divorce and Taxes

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