Realtor.com | Clare Trappaso
More first-time homebuyers have been successfully navigating the extremely pricey and challenging housing market.
Despite the myriad obstacles in their way, first-time buyers made up about a third of those purchasing homes to live in, according to the National Association of Realtors® 2023 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. They increased from 26% in the previous year to 32% this year.
“It’s encouraging that we’re seeing first-time buyers edge back into the market,” says Jessica Lautz, deputy chief economist at NAR. They got a bit of an edge in the market as mortgage rates rose and other less determined buyers dropped out—or were priced out.
The report is based on an NAR survey of 6,800 buyers who purchased primary homes between July 2022 and June 2023. Investment and vacation home purchases were excluded from this report. Income data is from 2022.
First-time buyers were generally better off financially than they were in past years. They had a $95,900 median household income over the past year—up about 35% from $71,000 in the previous year.
Read: How More First-Time Homebuyers Are Successfully Navigating This Challenging Housing Market
