Each year the Texas Association of REALTORS® releases a report that analyzes survey data from Texans who bought or sold a home in the past year. The data has shown that the demand for Texas real estate has grown over the last several years, and so has the diversity of ethnicity, age and composition of households purchasing a home in Texas.

This information serves as a gold mine for real estate developers, home builders and marketers alike whom wish to better understand their target market. Understanding your audience is one of the most important factors in creating a successful marketing strategy! With that — here’s what Texas builders need to know about homebuyers, according to the 2017 Texas Homebuyer & Sellers report.   

Average Age of Buyers

The ratio of single Texas homebuyers increased from the 2016 edition of the report, with single female homebuyers increasing five percentage points to 19 percent and single male buyers rising two percentage points to 9 percent of all Texas homebuyers. Indicating that Texans are buying later and moving earlier in life, the median age of first-time buyers increased three years to 35 years old, while the median age of Texas home sellers decreased eight years to 46 years old.

Broader Ethnic Diversity

The report also shows a broader ethnic diversity among Texas homebuyers. Among all Texas homebuyers, 14 percent identified as Hispanic, 6 percent identified as African-American and 4 percent identified as Asian. Minorities among first-time homebuyers were most likely to be Hispanic (27 percent), while minorities among repeat buyers were most likely to African-American (27 percent).

Main Motivators

Job growth continues to be a driving force for relocation activity in and around Texas. Although the number one reason for purchasing a home among homebuyers in Texas and nationally was the desire to own a home of their own, the second-biggest driver for Texas homebuyers was job related relocation. Among new homebuyers in Texas, the primary reasons for purchasing a new home were to avoid renovations or problems with plumbing and electricity as well as to have the ability to customize design features. 

Where They Buy

Suburban areas continue to be the most sought-after location for both first-time and repeat homebuyers. The statistics are almost identical when comparing Texas to national data. Small towns and rural areas appear to be more popular among repeat homebuyers, possibly as older homebuyers seek larger or country properties for retirement. Nearly one in five Texas homebuyers who purchased a home in the report time frame owned one or more residential properties.

Choosing a Neighborhood

Both in Texas and nationally, quality of life and convenience to essential services are top factors in deciding where to buy a home. Sixty-nine percent of Texas homebuyers ranked the quality of neighborhood as an important factor in deciding on a home, an increase of 10 percentage points from the previous year’s report. Nationally, 60 percent of homebuyers said quality of neighborhood was their top factor in deciding where to buy.

Convenience to the homebuyer’s job was the second-highest deciding factor, increasing 3 percentage points from the previous report to 47 percent overall. Nationally, this was 43 percent. Additionally, more than one in three Texas homebuyers also consider commuting costs to be a very important deciding factor in where to purchase a home.

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The Texas Association of REALTORS® distributes insights about the Texas housing market throughout the year, including quarterly market statistics, trends among homebuyers and sellers, luxury home sales, international trends and more. To view the Texas Homebuyers and Sellers Report in its entirety, visit TexasRealEstate.com