The State of America’s Housing Market (Part 1)

More than 80% of Americans view housing as critical to the nation’s economic recovery, and nearly 70% feel that a presidential candidate’s position on housing will be an important consideration in the voting booth. Whether you’re thinking of buying, selling or are actively involved in the market, the statistics below will give you a clearer perspective of the state of the market.

Current National Trends in Housing

70% of Americans view owning a home as part of the American dream.

62% of consumers feel that buying a home in the current market is a good investment over the next 10 years.

$190,000: Median home price, up from $170,000 the previous year
$155,000: Median home price of first-time buyers
$219,500: Median home price of repeat buyers

Homeownership rate rose to 66.1% in Q3 2011, up from 66.0% in Q2 2011.

75.1% of homeowners state that their home defines their identity.

95% of metro areas are expected to see home prices rise in the next year.

Buyer Overview

Buyers searched for a median of 12 weeks and visited 12 homes before they found the one they purchased.

27% of homebuyers, including 60% of first-time homebuyers, said that the desire
to own a home of their own was the biggest reason they bought.

First-time homebuyers comprise 37% of the market.

64% of all buyers are married couples,
18% are single women,
10% are single men
and 7% are unmarried couples.

$80,900: The median household income of homebuyers.

84% of buyers purchased a previously-owned home and 16% purchased a new home.

Seller Overview

35% of homes were on the market less than 2 months before they sold.
The average time a home was on the market was 9 weeks.
66% of sellers were first-time sellers.
39% of sellers did not reduce the asking price,
26% of sellers reduced it once and 35% reduced the price two or more times.

Continue to Part 2

Sources:
1. Move, Inc.
2. Wall Street Journal, October 4, 2011
3. Bank of America: Mortgage Index Study, December 8, 2011
4. National Association of REALTORS® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers 2011
5. National Association of REALTORS® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers 2010
6. National Association of REALTORS® 7. CNN Money, November 4, 2011