How Most Folks Buy & Sell Homes in 2023: The Latest Facts & Statistics

Find Out What’s Motivating Today’s Homebuyers & Sellers

If you’re buying or selling a home these days, you’re probably not doing exactly what your parents or grandparents did when they bought or sold homes decades ago.

In fact, from researching and listing houses to financing purchases and closing the deal, a lot has changed in the home buying and selling process, largely due to technology, shifting preferences, and an evolving economy.

So, what do today’s home buyers and sellers look like?

Let’s find out by checking out some of the latest findings and statistics related to modern homebuyers and sellers.

10 Facts About Modern Homebuyers

Here’s a snapshot of what today’s homebuyers look like and what they’re in the market for: 

1. About 1 in 4 homebuyers is a first-time homebuyer.
   
2. First-time buyers make up less of the homebuying sector than ever before. In 2021, more than 1 in every 3 homebuyers was a first-time buyer.
   
3. The average age of the first-time homebuyer is on the rise, jumping up 3 years, from 33 years old to 36 years old.
   
4. The average age of the repeat homebuyer is 59 years old, also marking an all-time high for this demographic of buyers.
   
5. More than 2 in every 3 homebuyers are purchasing homes as couples, with about 61% married and about 10% unmarried. This is the highest percentage of unmarried couples that have ever been in the home buying market before, according to the National Association of Realtors®.
   
6. About 14% of homebuyers are purchasing multigenerational homes that can accommodate aging parents or leave room for adult children to move back in.
   
7. About 12% of homes purchased are newly built homes while about 88% are previously owned houses.
   
8. More than 40% of today’s homebuyers do NOT want to have to make renovations after buying a house. They want move-in-ready houses.
   
9. Close to 50% of homebuyers start the home purchase process with an online search. In other words, going online is the FIRST step that nearly half of all homebuyers take these days when they’re serious about purchasing a house.
   
10. On average, homebuyers look for houses for about 10 weeks — and they check out about 4 homes in person — before making an offer (or purchase). That reflects a longer homebuying process than even just a couple of years ago when buyers would spend an average of 8 weeks shopping for new houses.

A Look at the Home Selling Experience: 10 Key Findings

Along with homebuyers, home sellers have a distinct profile these days, and they’re making different choices than sellers in the past. Specifically, here’s what today’s home sellers tend to look like and want:

1. The average home seller is 60 years old, which is older than ever before.
   
2. The number one reason homeowners decide to sell is to move closer to loved ones. In fact, more than 1 in 5 home sellers cite this reason for listing their homes.
   
3. The average home seller lives in a house for a decade before deciding to sell.
   
4. Most home sellers want to move into bigger houses after they sell their homes. Only about 1 in 3 is looking to downsize or move into a house that’s about the same size.
   
5. Close to 9 in every 10 home sellers lists their house on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), which is the top seller’s resource for listing houses.
   
6. The average home sells after about two weeks on the market. That’s doubled since 2021 when homes would be listed for about one week before selling.
   
7. Fewer home sellers are offering “extras” to incentivize buyers and close deals these days. In fact, while about 1 in 5 home sellers throws in some extra incentive(s), that’s down about 6% over the past couple of years, highlighting the persistence of the seller’s market.
   
8. Most home sellers are getting their asking price, if not more. Actually, the average median home sale price over the past year has been 100% of the asking price.
   
9. While about 1 in 10 home sellers does a “for-sale-by-owner” (FSBO) transaction, nearly 90% turn to a real estate agent for help selling a house.
   
10. About 2 in every 3 home sellers find a real estate agent by asking friends or family for a referral.

These facts and statistics can start to prepare any homebuyer or seller for what it takes to buy or sell a home these days.

The Bottom Line on the Modern Homebuyer & Seller

Whether you’re planning to buy or sell a house soon, the more you know about modern homebuyers and sellers, the better.

The truth is that the housing market can be volatile and homebuyers and sellers can come to the table with certain expectations and objectives. Those can have far-reaching impacts, influencing:

• How long it takes to buy or sell a house
• The final purchase price and who covers the closing costs
• Whether homebuyers and sellers can get what they want and come out ahead on the deal

Ultimately, however, an experienced Realtor® can offer invaluable help, guiding and supporting buyers and sellers to facilitate their transactions and set home sales up for success.

Buying or Selling a Home in Texas? Work with 5-Star Realtors® & Get CASH BACK at Closing

No matter when you’re buying or selling a home in Texas, you can get experienced help and cash back at closing when you work with the 5-star Realtors® at New Home Gurus of Gurus Realty.

We can guide you through the process, helping you with offers, negotiations, and every aspect of closing. Plus, we’ll split our commission with you at closing.

Homebuyers and sellers who work with New Home Gurus can get back an average of $4,500 to $12,000 at closing.

How Much Cash Can You Get after Closing?

Call (281) 668-8124 or Contact Us to Find Out Now

We are standing by, ready to answer your questions and explain the details of our commission-sharing program.