National Archives | Real Estate & Investment Perspective by Karen Lee Bertiger

2026/01/042026/01/04

Closing Out 2025

As of November 2025 there are approximately 37% more sellers than buyers in the market. This is the largest market gap since 2013 and the gap is expected to grow in 2026. Most buyers can’t afford properties that are on the market. HOWEVER, this current market is a huge BUYER’S MARKET! There are more options in available properties, plus you’ll have leverage (which means you can make lots of lowball offers on the best possible property for your situation for the best possible price!)

If you’re not ready and able to buy, don’t worry too much. Shore up your finances and save for a down payment. It’s the best time to be a renter in 10 years. WHY? Because during 2024 600k+ new units came on the market. In 2025 another 500k+ units came on the market. Even more are coming on the market in 2026. Rent prices are falling and you can even get some concessions, such as 2-3 months of free rent in areas with lots of units available.

There were 200k new households formed in Florida from 2019-2023…which drove prices up.

Sellers need to be prepared for a longer timeline in selling because buyers don’t need to make a decision immediately.

2025/11/212025/11/21

Boomers

Now represent about 42% of today’s buyers and 53% of today’s sellers. (Source: NAR)

Depending on your situation, you should be marketing to boomers if you’re an investor. If you’re attempting to buy a property you should be researching boomers and those who have been in their homes for more than 7 years (although the length of time people are staying in their homes is trending up towards 12 years!) An agent who wants inventory should be looking at boomers.

2025/11/092025/11/09

NAR’s Buyer & Seller Trends

The NAR 2025 Buyer & Seller Trends report shows first-time buyers dropped to a record low of 21%, with the median age rising to 40.

Overview

● The share of first-time home buyers dropped to 21%, down from 24% last year.
● This marks the lowest share since 1981, when NAR began tracking the data.
● Historically, before the Great Recession, first-time buyers represented about 40% of the market.
● The median age of first-time buyers increased to 40, up from 38 last year.
● The median age of all buyers is now 59, while repeat buyers have a median age of 62.
● Among first-time buyers: ○ 32% were between 25 and 34 years old ○ 25% were between 35 and 44 years old

Demographics and Household Composition

● Married couples: 50% of first-time buyers (unchanged from last year).
● Single females: 25% of first-time buyers.
● Unmarried couples: 11% of first-time buyers.
● Single males: 10% of first-time buyers.
● Ethnic diversity: ○ 34% of first-time buyers identified as non-White or Hispanic. ○ 15% of repeat buyers identified as non-White or Hispanic. ○ Among all buyers: 84% White, 7% Hispanic/Latino, 6% Black/African-American, 4% Asian/Pacific Islander, 3% other.
● Family composition: ○ 32% of first-time buyers had children under 18 living at home. ○ 22% of repeat buyers had children under 18 living at home○ 24% of all buyers had children under 18, a historic low.

Income, Education, and Employment
● Median household income for first-time buyers: $94,400, down from $97,000 last year.
● Median household income for repeat buyers: $111,700.
● Median income for all buyers: $109,000.
● Married couples had the highest household incomes.
● Single female buyers had the lowest median incomes of all household types.
● Among all buyers: ○ 26% held a bachelor’s degree.
○ 25% held a master’s, law, or MBA-level degree.
○ 19% had a high school diploma but no college
○ 18% lived in a household with a veteran.
○ 1% included an active-duty service member.

Financing and Down Payments
● Median down payment for first-time buyers: 10%, the highest since 1989.
● Median down payment for repeat buyers: 23%.
● 30% of repeat buyers purchased with all cash.
● Top funding sources for first-time buyer down payments: ○ Personal savings: 59%
○ Financial assets (401k, stocks, crypto): 26%
○ Gifts or loans from family or friends: 22%

Housing and Living Arrangements
● 64% of first-time buyers rented their previous home or apartment.
● 22% lived with friends or family before buying.
● 65% of all buyers owned their previous home.
● 14% of all buyers purchased multigenerational homes, down from 17% in 2024.
● Top reasons for buying a multigenerational home: ○ Caring for aging parents: 41%
○ Cost savings: 29%
○ Adult children moving back home: 27%
○ Grandchildren living in the home: 12%
○ Reducing childcare costs: 6%

Motivations for Buying
● 21% of all buyers said the desire to own a home of their own was their main reason for purchasing.
● Among first-time buyers, that number rose to 64%.
● 45% of all buyers said the timing was right and they were ready to purchase.
● 20% said they had little choice and needed to buy when they did.
● 16% wanted to be closer to friends or family.
● 10% wanted a larger home.

Jessica Lautz, NAR Deputy Chief Economist:

“The historically low share of first-time buyers underscores the real-world consequences of a housing market starved for affordable inventory. The share of first-time buyers in the market has contracted by 50% since 2007, right before the Great Recession. The implications for the housing market are staggering. Today’s first-time buyers are building less housing wealth and will likely have fewer moves over a lifetime as a result.”
“Unfolding in the housing market is a tale of two cities. We’re seeing buyers with significant housing equity making larger down payments and all-cash offers, while first-time buyers continue to struggle to enter the market.”

Shannon McGahn, NAR Executive Vice President:

“For generations, access to homeownership has been the primary way Americans build wealth and the cornerstone of the American Dream. Delayed or denied homeownership until age 40 instead of 30 can mean losing roughly $150,000 in equity on a typical starter home.”

2025/08/312025/11/08

Residential FINCEN Rule Goes Into Effect for Entire US on December 1, 2025 (Will Affect ALL Cash Buyers)

QUESTION: Is it a transfer of real property containing a structure designed for 1-4 family occupancy, land on which transferee intends to build such, or shares in a cooperative housing corporation to a legal entity or trust without financing through an institution required to have AML procedures? IF YES, A REPORT IS REQUIRED!

Exemptions include:

Transfers to a trust by an individual, without consideration and where transferor is both a beneficiary and a settlor

Transfers resulting from the death of an owner including to or by a P.R.

Transfers by or to bankruptcy estates, trustees or court appointed receivers pursuant to bankruptcy proceedings

Transfers that create, convey, modify or terminate an easement

Transfers pursuant to a final divorce order, judgment or settlement agreement

Transfers supervised by U.S. courts

Transfers to a qualified intermediary in a 1031 exchange

Transfers that do not involve any “reporting person”

ALTA INFO/FORMs:

https://www.alta.org/file/ALTA -FinCEN-Seller-Collection-Form-v-10

https://www.alta.org/file/ALTA-FinCEN-Buyer-Collection-Form-v-10-fillable

2025/08/312025/08/31

If the FED Cuts Rates in September Will Mortgage Rates Decline?

Actually, the FED doesn’t control mortgage rates, they follow the 10 yr. US Treasury rate. It’s even a possibility that mortgage rates could rise if inflation stays above the FED’s desired rate and/or the job market/unemployment rises to recessionary levels.

One circumstantial indicator of a recession is a sharp decline in residential construction employment. Keep your eye on this one. Right now, new home builders are flush with inventory, offering better interest rates, etc. They are competing with the resale market, so if you are trying to sell your home right now, you may not be in a position to compete with them. The new home builders don’t want to keep large inventories of homes on their books.