Buyers: Results from the Zillow Consumer Housing Trends Report 2022

In This Article:

Executive Summary

A global pandemic, historic economic change and an unprecedented shift in the housing market have been hallmarks of the past year. But while these large-scale changes have shifted the landscape and have the potential to reshape buyers' preferences over the longer term, many behaviors and attitudes remain the same. 

The 2022 Consumer Housing Trends Report (CHTR) provides a snapshot of what housing consumers are thinking and doing in mid-2022. In this report, we take a deeper look at buyers (household decision makers that own their primary residence and moved to a home they purchased in the past year); In other reports, we examine renters, sellers, and new construction buyers more closely. Information about who buyers are in 2022 can equip consumers with the tools they need to make informed decisions in this transforming housing market landscape.

Who are buyers?

The median US buyer is 44 years old, partnered or married, has at least some college education, and is most likely to buy a home in the South. Demographic change tends to play out over a long time: Most of these characteristics have not changed substantially, if at all, over the last few years. 

What do their homes look like?

Most buyers – about three out of every four –purchased a single-family detached house (77%). Townhouses and rowhouses make up about one in ten purchased homes (9%). 

Buying a home stayed challenging

Like last year the typical buyer reported submitting two offers, up from one offer over the preceding three (2018 – 2020). At the same time, the number of first-time buyers increased since last year. After falling to 37% of buyers surveyed in 2021, the share of first-time buyers appears to have rebounded – reaching 45%. In previous years, a competitive, low-inventory market likely contributed to the historic falling share of first-time buyers; however, recent increases in the cost of acquiring a mortgage, coupled with economic uncertainty, may explain would-be repeat buyers staying put. These tenured homeowners are likely to have favorable mortgage rates that they would lose if they moved, while first-time buyers are far less likely to consider such a trade-off.

What technology do they want for home shopping?

When asked if they agreed with a series of statements about their desire for 3D and Virtual home tour technology, buyers tended to at least somewhat agree that such tools would be helpful. Majorities of buyers somewhat or completely agreed that 3D tours would give them a better feel for the space than static photos (66%) and that unlocking properties on their phone and tour them in-person on their own time would be easier (64%). Most agreed at least somewhat that they wished that more listings had 3D tours (61%) and preferred to schedule in-person tours online (62%).