At 31 percent, Gen X comprises the largest group of recent home buyers, according to NAR’s Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends report released today. Gen Xers were followed in numbers by Gen Y buyers (28 percent), and then younger Baby Boomers (18 percent), older Baby Boomers (14 percent), and the Silent Generation (10 percent). The Greatest Generation, also known as the G.I. Generation, represented less than 1 percent of recent buyers.

The report a compilation of survey data from 8,501 recent home buyers also shows that 80 percent of buyers who are aged 57 and younger bought a detached single-family home in 2012. Buyers over the age of 57 are increasingly purchasing townhouses and condos.

The report also found that among all generations of home buyers, the first step in the home buying process is looking online for properties for sale.

Older buyers are less likely to finance their home purchase in comparison to younger buyers; when they do finance, the share of the home they financed is typically smaller.

Survey respondents cited benefits from working with a real estate professional. Among age groups, younger buyers are more likely to want their agent to help them understand the process as they are more likely to have never purchased a home before. Additionally, younger sellers are more likely to use the same real estate agent or broker for their future home purchases than older sellers.

When it comes to selling, Gen X is the largest group who are recent home sellers followed by both younger Baby Boomers and older Baby Boomers, the Silent Generation, and Gen Y. The G.I. Generation represented less than 1 percent of recent sellers.

The author of this article is: realtormag.realtor.org

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