Now that millennials have eclipsed Baby Boomers as the largest generation, they're also dominating the new class of homeowners. In 2022, millennials were the largest home buying age group, making up 43 percent of total buyers. Sixty percent of all home buyers were married couples, with single women following at 19 percent.
The same report found a few trends tied to home buyers' ages. Buyers under 30 purchased homes with a median price of $250,000, while buyers between 31 and 40 had a median home price of $315,000. Overall, the average home purchased
in 2022 had three bedrooms and two bathrooms.
For the majority of prospective home buyers, the journey begins by looking at listings. In 2022, 47 percent of home buyers started the process by browsing homes online, according to the National Association of Realtors. In fact, more than 60 percent of all buyers younger than 41 found the home they eventually bought online. You can even start browsing online listings for homes in your area with Rocket Homes.
Deciding you're ready to buy a house or sell your current home can feel deeply personal – after all, this is the place you're going to spend or have spent a significant amount of your life.
On the other hand, it's also a financial decision. Your savings account, credit score, and even salary all factor into figuring out how much house you can afford and getting pre-approved for a mortgage. Taking a step back to look at the statistics surrounding homeownership can help you get a better sense of what your search might entail – and what the real estate market looks like in 2023.
For many buyers, securing a mortgage is another key step in closing on a home. Lenders like Rocket Mortgage consider several factors before offering you a pre-approval, including your debt-to-income ratio, assets, and credit history. A healthy credit score is crucial: According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the median credit score for home buyers taking out a mortgage was 768 in the third quarter of 2022.
The median mortgage payment was $1,920 in December 2022, nearly a 39 percent increase from the beginning of 2022, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. In September 2022, the median mortgage loan amount was $305,550. Whether that sounds similar to the loan amount you need or not, the experts at Rocket Mortgage can help you navigate the entire mortgage process. Start your home buying journey by reaching out to Rocket Mortgage today.
Married couples
60%
Demographics of Home Buyers
Equal Housing Lender. NMLS 3030
Of course, finding a home you want to buy is just the first step. Before you can actually make an offer, you have to secure a mortgage pre-approval from a qualified lender like Rocket Mortgage and find the funds for a down payment. That's no small feat:
26 percent of first-time home buyers said coming up with a down payment was the hardest part of the process. The good news is, you don't always have to stick to the standard 20 percent down payment. With Rocket Mortgage, you can buy a home
by putting as little as 3 percent down.
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Written by Annalise Mantz Illustrations by Natalia Agatte Design by Kelly Millington
finding your
dream home
73 percent of homes sold in April 2022 were on the market for less than a month.
Who Is the
average Buyer?
Securing a
mortgage
While looking online can sometimes feel a little feverish, there is some good news about the current housing market: It could prove a little easier to navigate for prospective buyers than the frenzied pace of home sales in recent years. In April 2023, the median price for existing homes was $388,800, a decline of 1.7 percent from April 2022, but a slight increase from more recent months. Prospective buyers might still have to move quickly to seal the deal on their dream home, though, as
73 percent of homes sold in April were on the market for less than a month.
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Median Home Buyer Credit Score
Click each section to view datapoints
Single women
19%
What
Looks Like
In 2023, By The Numbers
Homeownership
Median Home Price
Single men
9%
Unmarried couples
9%
Other
3%