Homebuyer Demand Is at Its Highest Level Since 2000

Genworth Mortgage Insurance's latest report showed first-time homebuyers purchased 601,000 single-family homes in the third quarter, six percent more than during the third quarter of 2016.

“First-time homebuyers bought the most homes in a quarter since the third quarter of 2000, buoying the broader housing market that had slowed during this period, -1 percent growth compared to Q3 of 2016,” said Tian Liu, chief economist at Genworth Mortgage Insurance, per HousingWire. He added, “The surge in first-time homebuyer demand ... was driven by supply-demand imbalances in today’s housing market.”

The private mortgage insurance industry insured a total of 181,000 loans for first-time homebuyers in the third quarter, the highest level since the second quarter of 2007 and up 19 percent from the third quarter last year. This represented the fastest-growing source of credit to first-time homebuyers in the mortgage industry. And FHA loans saw a decrease, dropping 6 percent from last year to 197,000 FHA loans.

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