The past several years have seen a volatile housing market, but what does it look like at the end of 2023? If you are looking for a home or want to start looking for one, here are the numbers and stats for 2023. Remember this is both an emotional and financial decision that can impact many years to come.
Looking back at 2022, almost half of prospective homebuyers started the process by looking at listings online. According to the National Association of Realtors more than 60 percent of all buyers younger than 41 found the home they eventually bought online.
The current market is still a busy one for homebuyers, but the competition has sizzled some. A big part of this is due to the rising home prices. The median home price in November 2022 was under $350,000 while the report shows in April 2023 the median home price came in at $388,800. The good news is this is still 17% below what was reported in April 2022.
Prospective homebuyers are still having a hard time when it comes to finding the funds for a downpayment. The standard is around 20% of the purchase price, however, there are many mortgages out there that require less or even no downpayment.
The largest generation for a while now has been the Baby Boomers. This has changed and now the Millennials are the largest. Millennials are now responsible for making up around 43% of the total homebuyers.
Those under the age of 30 purchased homes for a median price of $250,000. Those between 31 and 40 purchased homes with a median home price of $315,000. Married couples purchased the most homes at 60%, single women at 19%, single men and unmarried couples at 9% and 3% were reported as other.
One of the big tools in a buyer’s pocket has been a pre-approval letter which lets a seller know they are serious. Before you go to a mortgage lender, you still need to figure out your debt-to-income ratio, assets, and credit history.
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 in December 2022 was $1,920 and the median mortgage amount was $305,550 the same year.
If now is the time you want to purchase a home, talk to a local realtor who can help you through the whole process. A local realtor can also help you decide on the best mortgage lender for the process.