It's easy to appeal to the nuclear family who is shopping for a home. Just show them you have community ties to the neighborhood and schools they want to live near, and you are a shoo-in. But is basing your business marketing plan on the nuclear family a good idea? What if you are young and single? Would you be as effective with this demographic as an agent who has a family and knows schools and services related to children?

When you see the latest demographics in homebuyers, you may well decide to change your target market. REALTORS® are no longer locked in to marketing their services just for families who want to live in the suburbs - growing evidence suggests that there may be more money to be made by serving a different demographic, one closer to the Realtor's personal interests and leanings.

REALTORS traditionally gear their services to accommodate the stereotypical buyer who is white, middle class, and buying a home for the second or third time. These buyers typically have a family income of $60,000 or higher and can qualify for a new or existing home of $160,000 to $180,000 or higher.

Once considered the family ideal, the nuclear family, consisting of mother, father, a boy child and a girl child, constitutes the largest homebuying demographic there is...64% of the market, according to the National Association of REALTORS® bi-annual housing report. Yet NAR insists that it is the non-traditional buyer that is changing the dynamics of the real estate market.

Non-white racial and ethnic buyers are also a growing segment of the market, says NAR. Although whites make up 90% of the homebuying market, blacks account for five percent, with eight percent of the white market made up of Latinos, Spanish or Hispanics. English is the primary language for all but 4% of buyers.

Single women make up 18% of transactions, with single men accounting for 11 percent. Unmarried couples and others accounted for seven percent of all sales. Three out of ten households are maintained by women without no husband present.

Only 25% of households have children under the age of 18, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The number of married couples with no children is expected to grow by 7 million by 2010. The average number of people occupying households is down to 2.65 from 3.14 in 1970.

The number of family households is projected to increase by 15 percent by 2010, adding more than half the growth of total households. These households will be increasingly occupied by childless couples, single-parent families, and people living alone.

Many cities, particularly in the South, are already seeing a counter-trend developing. Instead of flocking to the suburbs for housing, many home buyers, particularly from the non-traditional segment, are deliberately seeking the hustle and bustle of downtown and city environments. This trend is opening up new home environments including warehouse district lofts, high-rise residential buildings consisting of both condominiums and apartments. Townhomes and zero-lot lines are making a comeback.

What this means is that the market for larger homes may well reverse itself in the near future. As the small household takes a larger share in demographics, the market for large suburban homes may well dry up, revealing more opportunity in other types of homes.

Why? The non-traditional buyer has different concerns than the white, nuclear family and increasingly has the buying power to own a home.

Ethnic groups and alternative lifestyle groups tend to live near one another more than ever, despite inroads made toward integration in schools and the workplace. Communities can have distinct borders between countries of origin and lifestyle preference. Although blending in the workplace and schools are encouraged, people are choosing to keep their private life segregated.

Schools are an issue for growing families, but are of little or no interest for singles, childless couples, same sex couples or empty nesters. These people are more tuned in to proximity to city amenities, shorter commutes to work, and housing amenities such as on-site laundry facilities, covered parking and security features.

Housing is becoming more affordable for all groups across the board with incomes rising, poverty levels lowering and interest rates on residential properties plummeting. According to the latest U.S. Census Bureau report, the gap between poverty level incomes and high incomes is narrowing, with Asians leading with the highest median household income, at $45,249. Whites followed with $38,972. Hispanics earned a median household income of $26,628, followed by blacks, who earned a median household income of $25,050. With the current rate of immigration, one-third of children in the United States are African American, Hispanic, or Asian.

But according to information compiled for Real Estate Confronts Reality, by Tom Dooley, Stefan Swanepoel and Michael Abelson, Real Estate Education Company® where Realtors really miss the significance of demographics is in the age of the homebuyer and their motivations for buying. Society is aging, but interestingly the group that does not get larger is the over-65. The group that grows will be the 45-to 64-year-old group. This is in direct contrast to the age of the broker. If 20% of the general population in 1995 was 45-64 years old, brokers constitute 62% and sales associates 52% of the Realtor population.

The authors advise brokers to recruit personnel that more closely reflects the general population or one that "clearly mirrors their local market or market needs."

Another opportunity exists in establishing a niche in the industry, one that serves the non-traditional homebuyer and a sub set of that demographic. Spanish-speaking only and gay brokerages are on the rise, as well as those that specialize in certain types of housing, such as historical homes or shared-wall homes.

Published: October 2, 1998

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