N.Va. Profile: 5 Weeks, 9 Houses, 8-Mile Move

By Sandra Fleishman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, March 25, 2006

So who is buying houses these days? And who is selling them?

Don't be surprised: As in so much of real estate, it all depends on location.

Nationally, the typical buyer and seller have not been statistically the same as their counterparts in the Washington area, where the frenzied housing market of recent years called for quick decisions and fat pocketbooks, according to research by the National Association of Realtors.

The national group's 2005 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers was one of the largest surveys of real estate consumers ever conducted, according to the trade association. It was based on more than 7,800 responses to an eight-page questionnaire mailed to 145,000 home buyers and sellers, who purchased or sold homes from August 2004 to July 2005.

There is no comparable survey for the overall Washington area, but there is data for Northern Virginia. The Realtors group paid for an analysis of the 387 responses from its territory. The Virginia findings show that buyers typically bought faster, paid much more and stayed closer to their previous homes than their counterparts nationally.

Here's a closer look at both sets of findings:

Northern Virginia

The typical Northern Virginia buyer spent five weeks shopping, saw nine houses and moved only eight miles to the next home.

The typical home was on the market for one week. The owner had lived there for three to four years and had household income of $120,000.

The median income of entry-level Northern Virginia buyers was $86,100, and 68 percent of first-time home buyers were ages 25 to 34. First-time home buyers accounted for 38 percent of the houses bought in Northern Virginia, compared with 40 percent nationally.

The median price in Northern Virginia was $445,000, compared with $195,000 for the country. The median income of all home buyers was $104,600, compared with $71,600 nationally.

Forty percent of the homes bought in Northern Virginia were detached single-family houses. Such houses made up 75 percent of homes bought in the United States.

Nationally

The typical buyer nationally searched eight weeks, walked through nine properties and moved 12 miles from a previous residence.

The typical seller placed his home on the market for four weeks, had lived there for six years, moved 15 miles to a new residence and had previously owned three homes, including the one just sold.

The median age of entry-level buyers was 32, and household income was $57,200. Typically, they made a down payment of 2 percent on a home costing $150,000, but 43 percent purchased with no money down. Of first-time buyers who made a down payment, 23 percent received a gift from a friend or relative.

The typical repeat buyer was 46 years old and had a household income of $83,200. The buyer typically put down 21 percent on a house costing $235,000, but 11 percent of repeat buyers paid all cash.

Among the other national results:

· The median price of a house bought by first-time buyers nationally was $150,000. For repeat buyers, it was $235,000.

· Whites made up 77 percent of first-time buyers, compared with 87 percent of repeat buyers.

· Almost seven out of 10 first-time home buyers bought a single-family house, compared with nearly eight out of 10 repeat buyers.

· The median size of a house purchased by first-time buyers was 1,546 square feet. For repeat buyers, it was 2,015 square feet.

· First-time buyers listed house size, neighborhood quality and distance from work and school as the top three areas in which they compromised. Repeat buyers said they compromised most on house size, planned spending and distance from work and school.

· A third of home buyers were 34 or younger. Six percent were younger than 25.

· Married couples made up 61 percent of home buyers, compared with 70 percent in 1995.