Home Buying Trends Presents Mixed Bag in 4th Qtr., of 2019.

The recent Housing Trends Report from the NAHB’ indicates that buyers who are considering purchasing a home in the next 12 months fell to <-11%> in the 4th quarter of 2019, down from 13% a year earlier. This is the fifth consecutive year-over-year drop in the share of American buyers planning to buy a home in the year ahead, a trend likely driven by the low levels of housing inventory available in the market. A surprising finding in the fourth quarter of 2019, however, is that a significantly larger number of prospective home buyers are first-time buyers (63%) than the comparable figure a year earlier (53%).  Future surveys will determine if first-time buyers will continue to grow as a share of all those looking to buy a home