Home buyers can come from many walks of life

Who buys homes these days? The same people who bought last year -- there are just not as many of them.

The mix of home buyers -- singles, families, couples, first-time buyers and repeat buyers -- has remained roughly the same over the past few years, according to the most recent study from the National Association of Realtors.

While the number of buyers has dropped in many areas, "I think the ratio has not changed," said C.D. "Chip" Boring, broker/owner of Re/Max Realty Plus in Sebring, Fla.

But some agents say the changing market has affected who is shopping for a home in their area.

"I'm seeing a lot more younger people, a lot of first-time home buyers," said Bunny Stuart, associate broker with Weichert Realtors in Kingston, N.Y.

And buyers are becoming more selective, according to agents, raising their standards and touring more homes before making a decision.

"It's upped the ante a little bit," said Stuart. "They have more desires because they have more out there to choose from."

Who's buying homes

Plant a "for sale" sign in the lawn and who's most likely to knock on your door? The typical buyer is a young, white, married couple with no kids, according to the Realtors' study.

While singles and ethnic groups have made strides in home buying, they are still in the minority, according to the NAR. Single women make up 20 percent of all home buyers, a number that has stayed relatively constant for the past few years. Likewise, single men comprise a constant 9 percent of buyers. African-Americans make up 7 percent of the home-buying populace; Latinos are 6 percent, and Asians and Pacific Islanders are 5 percent, according to the study.

Buyer incomes are moving up. At least half of last year's buyers had a household income that topped $74,000, according to the group's numbers.

The average cost of what they're buying falls in the $200,000-plus range. Last year, the median home price was $215,000 (meaning half of buyers paid more and half paid less), according to the Realtors.

First-time buyers take out mortgages for $202,265 on average, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Repeat buyers sign on for an average of $233,433.

Who's not buying

The decline in home buyers last year was nothing new. The number of home buyers has been dropping steadily over the past three years. From 2005 through 2007, home sales dropped 22.7 percent, according to statistics from the MBA.

Today's home market has "definitely slowed down," said Glen Lazovick, director of mortgage lending at Mid-Atlantic Federal Credit Union.

Three kinds of buyers have definitely shown diminished interest in the past six months, Realtors report.

Investors, low down payment buyers and "jumbo" (more than $417,000) mortgage buyers have become more scarce, said Don Vecchiarello, communications manager for Wachovia.

"As the secondary market has died, there is less appetite for people who are purchasing investor properties," said Vecchiarello. Likewise, banks, which often resell their mortgage loans, are finding fewer takers for jumbo loans that come with higher interest rates.

"A few years ago, people were buying things to flip and sell," said Barbara Alexander, broker/owner of Howard Hanna Premier Properties in Morgantown, W. Va. "In that, I've seen a slowdown."

And with tightening lending standards, many banks want to see higher down payments.

"We're typically looking" at 20 percent, said Vecchiarello.

Whether it's those more stringent standards or the tightening market or both, lenders are seeing a drop in mortgage applications.

"What we're seeing is that there hasn't been as much volume, and I think it's an industry-wide trend," Vecchiarello said.

He doesn't believe that first-time home buyers are being impacted disproportionately.

While the mix of buyers is similar, the number of actual buyers is lower, he said.

"There has been a lower volume across the marketplace," said Vecchiarello. But "I think we're seeing a similar percentage of what we always see."

How home buyers have changed

With more selection and better prices in many areas, sellers and agents have noticed that buyers are getting much more discerning.

"There's more selection now than ever before," said Pat V. Combs, vice president of Coldwell Banker AJS Schmidt.

Buyers such as Kelli Myers, who bought her first home along with her husband in January, have become very picky.

"There's no reason to settle," Myers said. "It's such a huge investment, you should really try to get what you're looking for."

Buyers are passing up "almost perfect" homes and choosing to search longer to find a home that fully matches their wish list, Realtors around the country report.