Tuesday, March 04, 2014

First-Time Homebuyers by Region: 2013

Typically, Americans buy their first home in their thirties. But first-time homebuyers are getting older, their age rising from early thirties to late thirties since the Great Recession. Among householders aged 30 to 34, only 48.1 percent owned their home in 2013, down from 57.4 percent in 2004 (the year when the overall homeownership rate peaked). Among householders aged 35 to 39, the 55.8 percent majority owned their home in 2013, but this was down from 66.2 percent in 2004.

By region, there is considerable variation in the age of first-time home buying. Here is the percentage of householders in their thirties who owned their home in 2013 (and the percentage point change since 2004)...

Aged 30 to 34
Northeast: 42.1% (-9.8)
Midwest: 57.9% (-7.1)
South: 49.8% (-9.0)
West: 40.6% (-11.5)

Aged 35 to 39
Northeast: 53.9% (-8.0)
Midwest: 63.4% (-10.8)
South: 56.6% (-11.3)
West: 48.7% (-10.1)

There is one bit of good news is these declining figures. We may have hit bottom—at least in the Midwest, where the homeownership rate of householders aged 30 to 34 climbed 2 percentage points between 2012 and 2013.

Source: Census Bureau, Housing Vacancies and Homeownership

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