Both first-time and repeat U.S. homebuyers are now the oldest on record, and the proportion of purchases by Black, Asian and Pacific Island Americans is the lowest since 1997, the latest evidence that it’s increasingly difficult to buy a home.
A typical first-time buyer was 36 this year, three years older than in 2021, data from the National Association of Realtors released Thursday showed. For repeat purchasers, it rose to 59, the NAR said.
The share of first-time homebuyers declined to 26% this year — the lowest since NAR records started in 1981 — and has been under the historical norm of 40% since 2011 “as buyers face tight inventory, rising home prices, rising rents, and high student debt loads,” the NAR said.
Mortgage rates have more than doubled this year, with the affordability crunch sidelining potential buyers, curbing the number of home sales and triggering a decline in residential real estate prices from their COVID-era peaks.
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About 88% of all buyers were white/Caucasian, 6 percentage points more than in 2021.
Just 3% of purchasers were Black — half the figure of 2021 — while the proportion of Asian/Pacific Islander homebuyers fell to 2% from 6% last year, the lowest for both since the earliest data collection of race and ethnicity in 1997.
Similar trends are present for first-time buyers, with the proportion of Black and Asian/Pacific Islander purchasers shrinking relative to 2017.
Try these 6 tips to save money in your yard
Remember: Seeds are cheaper than plants
Many vegetables are easy to grow from seed, and a $2 seed packet is a lot cheaper than a full-sized plant or buying vegetables from the store. Try tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers, beans, lettuce and beets from seed.
They’re easy, even for beginning gardeners. Start them indoors under lights for a head start, or sow directly in the garden. If you’re nervous about starting from seed, seedlings purchased from a nursery are typically only slightly more expensive.
Save money on soil
A large container can be expensive to fill with fresh potting soil.
To save money, place one or more empty nursery pots upside-down in the bottom. Not only does it reduce the amount of soil needed, it reduces weight, too.
Invest in a mulching mower
A good mulching mower pays for itself in several ways. First, you don’t have to pay to have grass clippings bagged and hauled to a composting facility. Second, returning clippings to your lawn is like free fertilizer. Over the course of a full season you’ll return about as much nitrogen as one full-strength feeding.
And when fall comes, do the same with fallen leaves.
Inspect your sprinklers
Long watering is an expensive proposition in the summertime. To make sure your sprinklers are operating efficiently, have an irrigation expert do a walk-through water audit and suggest ways to reduce water bills.
If you have an automatic irrigation system, use sensors to make it more efficient. They can help you water exactly as much as needed and no more.
Trade perennials with other gardeners
Mature perennials in your garden are a valuable resource. Most perennials can be dug up and divided, yielding two, three or even four splits. And each of these can be replanted elsewhere. Even better, trade with other gardeners, swapping divisions of your perennial for varieties in their gardens that you’d like to try.
Plant a tree for a more efficient house
If you have a hot western wall exposed to the afternoon sun, try planting a tree that will shade it. Not only can it add to the overall aesthetic of your surrounding yard, the shade it throws can significantly reduce your cooling costs.
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