In response to housing market analysts who have expressed concern about lack of affordability on the first-time buyer market, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has taken data from its own Consumer Credit Panel and found that, despite ups and downs, the current first-time buyer share is close to what it was in the early 2000s.
The share of first-timers in the market was about 44% in 2001, falling only slightly to 40% in 2005 as house prices increased. Then, during the housing crisis, the first-time buyer share increased, exceeding 50% in 2010 as house prices declined. This rate trended downward over the next few years, retreating back to the mid-40% range.
Since 2013, the share began to climb, reaching 46% in 2016. The researchers point out that NAR’s data indicates a much lower percentage than what is revealed in their analysis, showing that first-timers comprised just 36% of the market in 2016 compared with their 46%.
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