(Percent of Respondents)
First-time Buyer Share
(Percent of Prospective Home Buyers)
The intention to buy is inversely related to age: whereas 19% of Millennials have plans to purchase a home in the next year, the share falls to 13% among Gen X’ers, 7% among Boomers, and 3% among Seniors.
These results are not surprising, given that mobility rates decline significantly with age: according to the Census Bureau’s 2017 Current Population Survey, 18% of those under 40 years of age moved in the previous year, compared to 9% of those 40 to 49, 6% of those 50 to 69, and 3% of those 70 or older.
Planning to Buy Home in Next 12 Months by Generation
(Percent of Respondents)
Most of the 19% of Millennials planning a home purchase are first-time home buyers (75 percent). Among Gen X’ers and Boomers, 48 percent and 20 percent, respectively, are attempting home ownership for the first time. Since only 3% of Seniors reported plans to buy a home, not enough data are available to reliably estimate the share that would be first-timers.
First-time Buyer Share by Generation
(Percent of Prospective Home Buyers)
In terms of the type of home these prospective home buyers are interested in, 44% are looking to buy an existing home, 18% a newly-built home, and 38% are looking for either type.
* The Housing Trends Report (HTR) is a research product created by the NAHB Economics team with the goal of measuring prospective home buyers’ perceptions about the availability and affordability of homes for-sale in their markets. The HTR is produced quarterly to track changes in buyers’ perceptions over time. All data are derived from national polls of representative samples of American adults conducted for NAHB by Morning Consult. Results are not seasonally adjusted due to the short time horizon of the series, and therefore caution is advised when interpreting trends or comparing time periods. A description of the poll’s methodology and sample characteristics can be found here This is the first in a series of four posts highlighting results for the third quarter of 2018.