house purchase
Key Takeaways from the National Association of Realtors Buyers and Sellers Report.
First-time visitors accounted for 26 percent of all buyers, the smallest percentage of all buyers since data collection began. — Jon Gorey/Boston.com File Jon Gorey
November 3, 2022 | 11:18 am
A report released Thursday by the National Association of Realtors reflects a real estate market that’s still acting like a neighborhood idiot.
The report, based on data collected from July 2021 to June 2022, doesn’t reflect the nationwide market slowdown, but its findings show trends with lasting effects: buyers and sellers are aging, properties are selling slower but for more money The racial divide in home ownership is widening, and first-time homebuyers make up the smallest percentage of homebuyers since the organization began collecting data.
Market experts in the Boston area said they’re seeing that impact here, blaming the historically low inventory of homes for sale and pent-up demand for skyrocketing prices. In September, the state saw a 16.2 percent year-over-year decline in single-family home sales and a 22.9-3.7 percent decline in condominium sales, according to a report by The Warren Group released Oct. 18 .
It’s important to note that the data from the National Association of Realtors also does not reflect any significant hikes in mortgage rates since June. According to Freddie Mac, the average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at the beginning of the year was 3.22 percent. By mid-June it was 5.78 percent and on November 3 it was 6.95 percent.
Here are some takeaways from the report – and reflections from local experts:
1. First Time Buyer
Nation’s first-time buyers accounted for 26 percent of all buyers, the smallest percentage of all buyers since data collection began. That number was 34 percent last year, and the historical norm is 40 percent. Their median age was 36, up from 33 in 2021.
Here, “younger first-time homebuyers have, on average, lower income and less money for down payments than other homebuyers,” said Richard J. Rosa, co-founder and co-owner of Buyers Brokers Only. “Until recently, this group of buyers faced a difficult real estate market in the greater Boston area.”
2. Selling Prices
Nation’s median selling price was 100 percent of list price, the highest on record since 2002, and 28 percent of buyers paid more than they asked.
Everyone interviewed for this story said the same was true in Massachusetts, but Rosa said those days may be over.
“Intense competition in the first half of 2022 caused home buyers to pay tens of thousands of dollars above asking prices,” Rosa said. “During the final month of the NAR survey period, June 2022, Commonwealth homebuyers paid an average of 106.2 percent of the original listing price, according to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors. That’s changing fast. In September, homebuyers paid 99.9 percent of the original list price.”
3. The racial divide in home ownership
Nation Of all homebuyers, 88 percent were white, up from 82 percent in 2021.
Here But what about in Greater Boston? “Yes, racial disparity has increased in the city of Boston,” said Melvin A. Vieira Jr., real estate agent at RE/Max and president of the Greater Boston Association of Realtors. “Although we had record sales and record prices, the minority could not benefit. They had to rely on traditional lending practices like FHA, MFHA, the MassDream program, the One program, the STASH program, or a five or ten percent down payment, while others had the luxury of putting down twenty percent or more cash or theirs Use savings for a large down payment.”
The 2022 MassHousing Racial Equity Advisory Council for Homeownership report found that debt-to-income ratio was the most common reason black and Hispanic buyers were refused mortgage loans, and that rejection rates for people of color were independent of this ratio or combinations of which DTI and income were higher.
4. Days at the Market
Nation Homes stayed on the market for 14 days, up from seven in 2021.
Here, Cohen said that real estate in the greater Boston area could stay on the market even longer this fall.
“That’s probably about right, depending on the time of year,” he said. “It’s a bit longer at the moment. It’s the kind of number that gives buyers and sellers alike the false sense that real estate is an easily liquid commodity. Depending on the market you operate in, this may not be the case.”
5. The hunt
Nation buyers’ average home search took 10 weeks, up from eight in 2021 and 2020.
Anthony Lamacchia, agent/owner of Lamacchia Realty, said buyers are still taking longer to find their homes here. “With all the bidding wars, many buyers lost the houses they wanted and had to continue their search before finally getting an offer for a house,” Lamacchia said.
6. Funding
Nation 78 percent of buyers financed their purchase, up from 87 percent in 2021.
Here This sounded like Lamacchia.
“Due to rising prices over the past two years, buyers have had to get creative with how to come to the table with a cash offer, and many did,” he said. “Many were pulling money out of their 401Ks, borrowing money from family, taking equity lines on existing homes, etc.”
7. Typical buyer
Nation median age of sellers was 60, up from 56 in 2021.
Here, “many homeowners who would have listed their homes in 2020 or 2021 have delayed due to COVID and fear of strangers coming into their homes,” Lamacchia said. “These metrics will likely show these effects for years to come.”
8. So little research for such a big purchase
Nation 67 percent of buyers and 80 percent of sellers consulted only one real estate agent before deciding who to hire.
Here James Nemetz, senior vice president and manager of Hammond Residential Real Estate, said that Massachusetts sellers were wiser and interviewed several realtors.
“You always hear this principle that sellers always have to get three opinions,” said Nemetz. “We always assume at a listing date that we are dealing with other competitors. In this region, especially in the high-end segment, we usually compete with another provider.”
9. Stay a little longer
Nation’s typical seller has owned the home for 10 years, up from eight in 2021.
Here Nemetz notes that this scenario also plays out in the greater Boston area: “Suppose an empty nester still has a mortgage. Let’s just say the kids went to college, they mortgaged the house for half a million dollars, and they have that mortgage at two point seven five percent,” he said. “Suddenly downsizing becomes expensive for them because they actually have to pay more for a smaller house. And they’re going to lose that two point seven five percent rate, and the new rate will be closer to seven percent.”
10. Deposits
Nation The median down payment was 14 percent of the purchase price. In its 2021 report, NAR said payments have shrunk since 1989, when the average was 20 percent.
Here Shant Banosian, executive vice president of sales at Guaranteed Rate, said shoppers in the greater Boston area are picking up less, but offered a glimmer of hope for home shoppers.
“Buyers who stay in the market are actually starting to win because there’s less competition,” Banosian said. “Houses are cheaper than six months ago. Things like mortgage risks and home inspections are back. It’s a little less overwhelming because things are moving slower and buyers have more protection.”
Jim Morrison can be reached at [email protected]. Sign up for Globe’s free real estate newsletter – our weekly overview of buying, selling and planning – at Boston.com/realestate. Follow us on Twitter @GlobeHomes.
