Insights from NAR's 2024 Buyer & Seller Profile

Main Points:

• Buyers who financed their home purchase:

  These numbers indicate how important it is to have knowledge about the lending process and a strong relationship with your mortgage banker. Jacksonville mirrors these stats with roughly 75% of closings being financed, but Florida as a whole averages just 65% of closings being financed.
  
  

• Median percent downpayment:

  The average downpayment has been growing since 2022, which is a sign of strength in the market. This is especially true for repeat buyers as they likely have more equity to use towards their next purchase. Comparing to 2008, we can see that first-time buyers are putting down triple the amount nowadays which is also helping buffer short-sale and foreclosure risk. In general, we’re nearly at the highest amount down for all buyers since 1989.
  
  

• Sources of down payment:
  

  First time buyers have to save, while repeat buyers are combining savings and equity from their previous house to make up the downpayment. In general, it’s good to be aware of the many sources downpayment money can come from and educate your people so they know their options.
  
  

• Expenses that delayed saving for a downpayment:

  32% of first-time buyers said saving for a downpayment was a challenge. Outside the obvious costs of rent and credit cards, student loans and health care costs stand out to me. There can be flexibility in the repayment of both without negatively impacting the loan process and you should partner with a mortgage banker to make sure you’re sharing strategies that can help. Further, states/cities with downpayment assistance will have greater success growing and it could be worth advertising the programs to neighboring states that don’t have as robust of programs.
  
  

• Reasons for loan denial:
  

  First, only 4% of buyers in the study had an application denied so we have to take these answers with a grain of salt. Debt-to-income (DTI) and low credit scores were the two primary reasons for denial. This is where your relationships matter because not all bankers are equal and having a lender who really looks at all the options can make the difference between approval and denial. Also, do you have proactive guidance for people looking to buy in a year or two to help them position themselves to get approved?

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