First-time homebuyers are getting squeezed out by investors
Sales to first time homebuyers falls to 27% in January. Under more normal conditions, first time homebuyers would make up about 40% of sales.
Buyers offering cash made up a full 27% of all sales in January, up from 19% the year before. Record high home prices and low inventory were already making things hard for first-time homebuyers. But new numbers show that investors are driving even more people away from homeownership.
A recent Zillow report found that in 481 U.S. cities, the value of a typical home is now at least $1 million. “The number of cities that crossed the $1 million threshold in 2021 is almost triple that of cities reaching those heights in 2020, underscoring a record-setting year of home appreciation,” according to the report.
