By Sabrina Karl
In Part 2 of our look at the National Association of REALTORS’ annual profile of statistics on recent home purchases, we dive into the kinds of homes Americans bought, how far they moved, and what priorities led them to choose the home they did.
Far and away, the most commonly purchased home type in the U.S. is a detached single-family residence. These homes accounted for 83 percent of the purchases during the year. In a distant second, townhomes and row houses represented 6 percent.
The make-up for senior-related housing purchases is quite different, however. Senior buyers accounted for 12 percent of all home sales during the year, with 20 percent of their purchases being condos.
Purchase prices increased slightly this year, to a median closing price of $257,000, and a typical sale at 98 percent of the seller’s asking price.
For that price, the typical home purchased was 1,850 square feet with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, and a median year of construction of 1990.
The study also found that most buyers are not moving far, with the median distance between the purchased and original homes being a mere 15 miles.
Seven out of eight homebuyers (87%) went with a previously owned home, with the number one reason being a belief that these homes offer a better overall value for the money (reported by 33 percent of these buyers).
Meanwhile, for the 13% of buyers who purchased a newly built home, they were most commonly driven by a desire to avoid renovations and problems with plumbing or electricity (reported by 39 percent).
The REALTORS’ annual survey was conducted in July 2019, capturing home purchases between July 2018 and June 2019. Responses were received from over 5,800 buyers, with results weighted to represent U.S. population demographics.