I received a handful of interesting facts from the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) today. Let me know what you think.
- The biggest group of home buyers by far is still married couples, accounting for 61% of all homes bought.
- Single women now purchase 22% of all homes. A recent Census Bureau data analysis by the New York Times concluded that 51% of all American adult women now live without a spouse. Women also account for about 57% of all college graduates, almost the reverse of the ratio of 40 years ago.
- Single men account for only 9% of purchases.
- Minority homeowners, who now account for 30% of all homes bought. Homeownership among African Americans grew from 44% to 48%, among Hispanics it grew from 43% to 49% and among Asians from 51% to 60% all during the 10 years leading up to 2005.
- The average age of the largest group of home buyers (Generation X and Y) is 35. The average age of REALTORS® is 57.
- The level of homeownership across the nation currently stands at 72%.
- Second-home buyers from abroad made about $41 billion worth of residential real estate purchases in the United States during 2005.
- Foreign buyers from Germany account for 13% of the total purchases from overseas, the largest foreign group. Latin Americans are also at 13%. Other countries at the top of the list include Japan and the United Kingdom, both at 10%.
In addition to the growth in ownership among minority groups, which is a good thing, it’s nice to see the total ownership numbers increase from 68.9% in 2005 to 72% in 2006.
The downside, which these numbers don’t indicate, is the smaller percentage of equity that owners have in today’s market compared to years past. Credit can be a dangerous thing.
