Video Transcript
Let's dispute some data. Everyone is talking about first time buyers now with a median age of 40 according to the National Association of REALTORS®. They say it's up from 38% last year. 33% five years ago. And that is a big, big jump. Statistically improbable, even. Let's call it a red flag. And then let's consider the method used to collect the data. The REALTOR® survey, it was sent by mail to 173,000 households. The typical survey, when it's sent by mail, it gets up to a 20% response rate. The REALTOR® survey: 3.5%. That's only 6,000 people who responded of all the home buyers everywhere. So maybe the method is skewing the data. What would you do if you got a survey by mail? And if we look at most other sources including the Census Bureau's American Housing Survey, different data showing the typical first-time home buyer is still in their low-30s. Not 40 years old. And HMDA data also shows the buyers under 35 are still a third of the U.S. market. So maybe the REALTOR® data is accurate and also poorly sampled, which makes it flawed. But it did get a lot of headlines. I'm Dan with Homebuyer.com. Happy homebuying.
No, First-Time Home Buyers Aren't 40 Years Old Now
Recent claims that the median age of first-time home buyers is now 40 years old, according to the National Association of REALTORS®, have been challenged. Critics point to a low response rate of 3.5% in their survey and highlight alternative data sources, such as the Census Bureau's American Housing Survey, which indicate that the typical first-time buyer is still in their low-30s.
Video Transcript
Let's dispute some data. Everyone is talking about first time buyers now with a median age of 40 according to the National Association of REALTORS®. They say it's up from 38% last year. 33% five years ago. And that is a big, big jump. Statistically improbable, even. Let's call it a red flag. And then let's consider the method used to collect the data. The REALTOR® survey, it was sent by mail to 173,000 households. The typical survey, when it's sent by mail, it gets up to a 20% response rate. The REALTOR® survey: 3.5%. That's only 6,000 people who responded of all the home buyers everywhere. So maybe the method is skewing the data. What would you do if you got a survey by mail? And if we look at most other sources including the Census Bureau's American Housing Survey, different data showing the typical first-time home buyer is still in their low-30s. Not 40 years old. And HMDA data also shows the buyers under 35 are still a third of the U.S. market. So maybe the REALTOR® data is accurate and also poorly sampled, which makes it flawed. But it did get a lot of headlines. I'm Dan with Homebuyer.com. Happy homebuying.
