RICHMOND, Va., June 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Over the past
10 years, three million first-time homebuyers have been kept out of
the home purchase market, according to Genworth Mortgage Insurance,
an operating segment of Genworth Financial, Inc. (NYSE: GNW), which
today launched its inaugural First-Time Homebuyer Market
Report.
The report is unique in that it traces the first-time homebuyer
market back to 1994, analyzing more than 20 million records of
first-time homebuyers from mortgage origination data. It is the
first report to track home sales to first-time homebuyers on a
monthly basis and report at quarterly intervals, allowing for
first-time homebuyer data to be compared against national housing
market indicators. Additionally, it is the first report to
separately identify first-time homebuyers enabled by low down
payment mortgages, such as conventional mortgages with mortgage
insurance coverage, FHA loans, VA loans, and USDA loans.
"Over the past three years, first-time homebuyers have accounted
for 85 percent of the growth in home sales, and have become an
important indicator for understanding market trends," said
Tian Liu, Chief Economist for
Genworth Mortgage Insurance. "Their impact has already been felt in
falling inventory and rising home prices, and we expect them to
increasingly drive growth to businesses most exposed to this market
segment."
Mr. Liu continued, "Despite their growth in volume, many
prospective buyers and housing market participants still mistakenly
believe that a 20 percent down payment is required to qualify for a
mortgage. By studying this group more closely, we hope to bring a
better understanding about the many low down payment options
available to help first-time homebuyers reach homeownership
sooner."
The report, which will be published quarterly, had several
notable findings in its first edition:
1. During Q1 2017, first-time homebuyers bought the most
single-family homes since 2005.
During the first quarter of 2017, 424,000 single-family homes
were sold to first-time homebuyers (38 percent of all single-family
home sales), the most during that period since 2005, and an 11
percent increase from the same period in 2016.
2. From 2014-2016, first-time homebuyers drove 85 percent of
the housing market's expansion, the fastest rate
ever.
The surge in the first-time homebuyer market from 2014-2016
accounted for 85 percent of the expansion in the housing market.
The annual increase of approximately 260,000 first-time homebuyers
for two years in a row is unprecedented during the period of
1994-2016, and had a large impact on the overall housing market in
both inventory and home price appreciation.
2016 was the strongest year for the first-time homebuyer market
in 11 years, reporting two million first-time homebuyers, or 15
percent more than in 2015. First-Time Homebuyers accounted for 37
percent of all single-family homes sold in 2016, up from 34 percent
in 2015.
3. Three million missing first-time homebuyers since the
Housing Crisis.
The report estimates that historically 1.8 million first-time
homebuyers purchased homes each year between 1994 and 2016,
accounting for 35% of all single-family homes sold. Because of the
housing crisis, only 1.5 million first-time homebuyers have been
able to purchase homes in the last 10 years, three million fewer
than the historical average. That pent-up demand among first-time
homebuyers will likely lead to a surge in demand for entry-level
single-family homes, low down payment mortgages, and a general
uptick in homeownership.
4. Private Mortgage Insurance and FHA loans had the most
first-time homebuyer market share from 2014-2016.
Private mortgage insurance and FHA loans accounted for 80
percent of the growth in the first-time homebuyer market from
2014-2016. This breaks out to 730,000 first-time homebuyers who
used FHA loans, and 510,000 who used private mortgage
insurance.
For access to the full report, as well as a brief fact sheet,
visit:
https://miblog.genworth.com/first-time-homebuyer-market-report-06-17/.
NOTE: Genworth's First-Time Homebuyer Market Report for Q2 2017
is scheduled for release on August 22,
2017.
About Genworth Financial
Genworth Financial,
Inc. (NYSE: GNW) is a Fortune 500 insurance holding company
committed to helping families achieve the dream of homeownership
and address the financial challenges of aging through its
leadership positions in mortgage insurance and long term care
insurance. Headquartered in Richmond,
Virginia, Genworth traces its roots back to 1871 and
became a public company in 2004. For more information,
visit genworth.com.
From time to time, Genworth releases important
information via postings on its corporate website. Accordingly,
investors and other interested parties are encouraged to enroll to
receive automatic email alerts and Really Simple Syndication (RSS)
feeds regarding new postings. Enrollment information is found under
the "Investors" section of genworth.com. From time to
time, Genworth's publicly traded
subsidiaries, Genworth MI Canada Inc. and Genworth
Mortgage Insurance Australia Limited, separately release financial
and other information about their operations. This information can
be found
at http://genworth.ca and http://www.genworth.com.au.
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/genworth-launches-first-ever-report-to-track-the-entire-first-time-homebuyer-market-300470825.html
SOURCE Genworth Financial, Inc.