Are you a typical first-time homebuyer?
If you’re in the market to buy your first home, you know what an emotional rollercoaster it can be. You can feel excited, confused, scared and hopeful – all within the span of a couple of hours!
We’re here to reassure you that it’s all normal and you’re not alone in this challenging market. Most first-time homebuyers are going through the exact same situations and self-doubt that you may be feeling. Maybe you:
- Think everyone else has more money than you
- Are insecure you’re the only one who can’t put down 20%
- Are afraid others have a jump on homeownership, and you’ll be left behind
- Worry you need a significant other to buy a house
See how you compare to some of these first-time homebuyer stats we gleaned from the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) 2024 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers report.
The median age of a first-time homebuyer is 38 years old.
This is 3 years older than the median age of the previous year. Why is the age of first-time homebuyers going up? Blame it on a lower inventory of houses, increased home prices and/or high interest rates. In any case, it’s taking longer for first-time homebuyers to find and afford a house, so don’t fret if you haven’t found one yet. You’re not doing anything wrong; it’s just a difficult market. Keep at it!
Bottom line: You’re neither too young nor too old to buy a house. The right age is when you find a house you love and can afford.
The typical down payment for a first-time homebuyer is 9%.
Contrary to the myth that you need a 20% down payment to buy a house, you can buy a home with as little as 3% down if you use private mortgage insurance (MI).
And if you think you’re one of the “few” first-time homebuyers who need to use MI so they can put down less than 20%, you should know that, according to a report published by U.S. Mortgage Insurers, almost 800,000 homebuyers leveraged private mortgage insurance in 2023 – with 64% of them being first-time homebuyers! If you use MI, you’ll be in good company: homeowners who were able to buy their home sooner than expected.
Bottom line: You may be financially prepared to buy a house sooner than you think. Try our Buy Now vs. Wait Calculator to run the numbers.
50% of first-time homebuyers are married.
But the other half of homebuyers aren’t married couples. In fact, 24% of first-time homebuyers are single women (up 5% from the previous year!) and 11% are single men. Unmarried couples are also taking the homeownership plunge at a rate of 12%.
Bottom line: You don’t need to be married to buy a house.
34% of first-time homebuyers compromised on the price of their home.
In a market where a lack of inventory drives up home prices and competition, it comes as no surprise that many first-time homebuyers (even repeat buyers) are paying more for a house than they originally planned.
First-time homebuyers made other compromises when deciding to purchase their homes:
- Size of the home (29%)
- Condition of the home (25%)
- Style of the home (21%)
- Distance from their job (17%)
Bottom line: There is no perfect home. It’s important to know what your must-haves are and what you are willing to let go of to literally get your foot in the door and begin building generational wealth.
Julie Tramonte
Julie Tramonte is a writer who joined MGIC in 2018. Prior to flying the coop, she wrote for a mattress company, a manufacturer and advertising agencies. She’s obsessed with reading, traveling, tennis and rearranging furniture. Mother of 2 beautiful, adult daughters. Empty nester who recently downsized. Her guilty pleasures are doughnuts and the Kardashians (don’t tell anyone).