Highlights from the recent NAR report
- Gen Y comprises the largest share of home buyers at 31 percent, followed by Gen X at 30 percent, and both Younger (16 percent) and Older Boomers (14 percent) at 30 percent. The Silent Generation has the smallest share of home buyers at nine percent.
- Gen Y has the largest share of first-time buyers at 76 percent. The share of first-time buyers declines as age increases. Among the Silent Generation only two percent of buyers are first-time buyers.
- Among all generations of home buyers the first step in the home buying process is looking online for properties for sale. Gen Y is most likely among generations to also look online for information about the home buying process, while the Silent Generation is most likely to contact a real estate agent.
- More than half of Gen Y and Gen X buyers used a mobile device during their home search. Among those who did, 26 percent of Gen Y and 22 percent of Gen X found the home they ultimately purchased via a mobile device.
- Younger buyers were predominately referred to their agent through a friend, neighbor, or relative, while older buyers were more likely to use an agent again that they previously used to buy or sell a home.
- Overall 88 percent of recent buyers financed their home purchase. Nearly all (97 percent) of Gen Y buyers financed compared to just 55 percent of Silent Generation buyers.
- Among the generations, Gen X (29 percent) is the largest group who are recent home sellers followed by both Older Boomers (22 percent) and Younger Boomers (21 percent).
- Younger sellers are more likely to use the same real estate agent or broker for their home purchase than older sellers, as they are typically moving closer to their previous residence.
More About the Report
Webinar
In this 22-minute webinar, Director of Member and Consumer Survey Research, Jessica Lautz, talks about the highlights of the 2014 Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends report. Watch the playback of the webinar.
Video
Watch a video of Director of Member and Consumber Survey Research Jessica Lautz talking about differences between generations of home buyers: which generations are doing most of the home buying, and what their stumbling blocks are.
Educate Yourself
Generation Buy Course
Take this course to learn more about the characteristics of the different generations of home buyers you work with, their expectations, and their communication preferences. The course offers generation-specific marketing tools, networking tips, scripts, and counseling strategies to help you improve your business.
Seniors Real Estate Specialist
This two-day training program offers real estate agents the unique opportunity to learn and build key skills in counseling adults age 50+ through selling their family home, buying rental property, moving to a senior community, among many other issues. This course fulfills the training requirement for the SRES designation.
