Homebuying activity was essentially unchanged in January 2019 compared to one year ago.
In the spirit of President’s Day, we can use data from the 2018 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers to see how the typical home differs from the White House.
Using data from the 2018 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers we can break down household composition, and the relationship it has to home purchasing choices.
Mortgage rates were unchanged from last month at 4.99% this December, and up 18.2% compared to 4.22% a year ago.
In 2017, NAR commercial members sold a median of nine industrial properties and eight office spaces.
Seventy-five percent of survey respondents reported that home prices remained constant or rose in December 2018 compared to levels one year ago (90% in December 2017).
With rising interest rates and commodity prices still depressed, land sales and land prices continued to increase at a modest pace during October 2017 – September 2018.
At the national level, housing affordability is down from last month and down from a year ago.
In 1981 when NAR first started tracking the data, the average age of a first-time homebuyer was 29. They made up 44 percent of all homebuyers. In contrast, in 2018, the average age of a first-time homebuyer was 46 and they accounted for 33 percent of all homebuyers.
Mortgage rates declined, starting the new year 2019 with the 30-year fixed rate mortgage dipping to 4.5 percent last week from 5 percent a month ago.
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