Real Estate Market Trends

At NAWLA’s 2023 Leadership Summit, Dr. Jessica Lautz, Deputy Chief Economist and VP of Research for the National Association of Realtors, spoke on top trends to watch in real estate.

She urged the audience to “go beyond” the headlines which suggest the real estate market is “crashing,” because her data simply doesn’t show that to be the case.

For example, even though the average number of offers received on most recent sale is currently 2.5, down from its peak of 5.5, she noted that still reveals an active buying market.

Moreover, nearly 30% of buyers are paying in cash, the highest level since 2014.  This diminishes the impact of rising interest rates.

There is also a rising trend of buyers who are buying a second property, as a vacation home and/or investment property.  This trend bodes well for real estate demand.

Other interesting trends include:

• The median age of a first-time home buyer has risen from 29 (in 1981) to 36 (in 2022).
• The median age for a repeat buyer has risen from 36 (in 1981) to 59 (in 2022).
• The percent of married couples comprising the group of first-time home buyers has dropped from 75% (in 1985) to 50% (in 2022), with the following groups rising significantly: single women, unmarried couples and other (i.e. roommates).