The New Jersey Association of Realtors publishes a report every year on the characteristics of people who buy and sell homes in New Jersey. The National Association of Realtors has it’s own buyer and seller profile but naturally that’s on a national scale. I prefer the New Jersey Home Buyer Profile report because it focuses on our State.
New Jersey Home Buyer Profile
There are some very interesting facts in this report and you might just be surprised by a few. Here are some highlights from the New Jersey Association of Realtors profile of home buyers:
- The median age of New Jersey home buyers is 36
- First time home buyers had a median age of 30
- 56% were married couples
- 21% were single females
- 10% were single males
- 49% of home buyers were first time buyers
- 64% had no children under 18 living with them
- The #1 reason to buy a home – a desire to own your own home
- The #1 reason for deciding when to do it – it was the right time in their life
- Top reason to choose the location – quality of the neighborhood
- 2nd reason to choose the location – convenient to their job
- 68% of all purchases were detached single family homes
- 89% used a fixed rate mortgage
- 72% used the internet frequently to search for a home; 17% occasionally
There are two key items here to note – 49% of all buyers in 2008 were first time home buyers and they decided to buy a home because the time was right for them.
The Importance of First Time Home Buyers
First time home buyers are crucial to keep a market moving – without them, a real estate market will collapse because they are the first cog in the wheel that drives the real estate engine forward. Real estate is a chain of transactions and it all starts with the first time home buyer.
So there you have it – the New Jersey Home Buyer Profile. It will be interesting to see if this changes in the future. Meanwhile, text me at 201-741-8490 if you’d like a copy of the full report.
