It typically took buyers 10 weeks to search for a home, up from eight weeks in 2020 and 2021. Additionally, homebuyers purchased their homes for 100% of the asking price, with 28% purchasing for more than the asking price.
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The age demographics of first-time buyers have also changed significantly. The typical first-time buyer was 36 years old – up from 33 years last year – and the typical repeat buyer’s age rose from 56 to 59 years, the highest since NAR started tracking the data in 1981.
Meanwhile, the median expected home tenure for first-time buyers expanded to 18 years, the highest ever recorded and up from 10 years in 2021.
“Those with housing equity hold the cards, and they’ve fared very well in the current real estate market,” Lautz said. “First-time buyers are older as a result of saving for down payments for longer periods of time or relying on a generational transfer of wealth to propel them into homeownership.”