Massachusetts Home Buyer Guide

Massachusetts first-time homebuyers didn't let increasing home prices and a lack of inventory deter their participation in the real estate market. Massachusetts first-time home buyers made up 41 percent of the total home-buying population in 2015, an increase from 39 percent in 2014, according to the 2015 Massachusetts Profile of Home Buyers & Sellers.

The same real estate market factors – high prices and low inventory – reduced the number of first-time homebuyers nationwide to 30 percent from 32 percent in 2014. Not since 1987 have only 30 percent of U.S. homebuyers been first-time buyers.  

The National Association of Realtors conducted the survey on behalf of the Massachusetts Association of Realtors. The following are some other takeaways from the survey. 

• The median household income of Massachusetts homebuyers (reported from 2014 household data) was $97,600 compared to the national median income of $86,100.

• Massachusetts first-time homebuyers had a median income of $77,400 compared to $69,400 among first-time buyers nationwide.

• Fifty-eight percent of buyers were married couples, 17 percent were single females, 8 percent were single males, and 16 percent were unmarried couples. 

• The median age of the first-time homebuyer was 32. Sixty-four percent of first-time homebuyers were between 25 and 34 years old, while 17 percent were 35-44 years. Only 3 percent were 18-24 years old. The median age of all Massachusetts homebuyers was 41 years old. 

• One hundred percent of first-time homebuyers surveyed financed their home purchase compared to 88 percent for repeat buyers.

• Forty-seven percent of buyers felt that the mortgage application process was either “much more difficult than expected” (18 percent) or “somewhat more difficult than expected” (29 percent). Thirty-three percent of buyers felt the mortgage application process was “not difficult/no more difficult than expected” and 21 percent felt it was “easier than expected.”

• Ninety-one percent of Bay State residents consulted a real estate broker when buying a home.

• At 36 percent, the primary reason Massachusetts residents purchased a home was the desire to own a home of their own.