News
Existing Home Sales Dip, First-Time Buyers Disappear
January 23, 2015
Existing home sales dipped 3.1% last year compared to 2013 and the shares of those homes bought by first-time buyers fell to a three-decade nadir. The National Association of Realtor figures reported today that 4.93 previously lived-in homes sold through the year. December sales fell short of economists' forecasts and November numbers were revised downward.
First-time buyers made a paltry 33% of purchases last year, the lowest share since 1987, according to Bloomberg. Still, analysts are hopeful that low mortgage rates, increased consumer confidences, solid job growth and rising home starts should combine for a rosier 2015.
