NAHB: housing preferences differ among ethnic groups

According to the National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) new report, What Home Buyers Really Want: Ethnic Preferences, housing preferences are affected by a homebuyer’s racial or ethnic background.

The latest report from NAHB’s publishing arm, BuilderBooks, is a further analysis of the 2013 study, What Home Buyers Really Want, which presented preferences of all homebuyers combined.

NAHB Chairman Kevin Kelly, a homebuilder and developer said, “The new data reveals some interesting findings about home buying preferences broken down by race and ethnicity. It contains invaluable information for builders by providing a window into the preferences of potential home buyers, and allowing them to tailor things to better meet the needs of their customers.”

The survey data confirmed that there are some significant differences across the various ethnic groups of buyers.

Minority buyers are typically younger

The NAHB reports that minority homebuyers are typically younger than White non-Hispanic buyers. The median African-American buyer is 39, the Hispanic buyer is 37, and the Asian buyer is about 36, while the median White buyer is 43 years old.

Half of minority buyers are married

Fifty percent or more of buyers in all racial/ethnic groups are married couples: 80 percent of White buyers, 50 percent of African-Americans, 74 percent of Hispanics, and 79 percent of Asians. Most also have children living at home.

Asians will spend the most on a home

Asian homebuyers have the highest median household income of all four groups, $72,797, compared with $67,747 for Whites, $50,221 for Hispanics, and $43,774 for African-Americans. Asians also expect to pay the most for their home: $283,469, compared with $205,775 among Whites, $181,444 among Hispanics, and $176,397 among African-Americans, the study shows.

The majority of buyers from all backgrounds preferred the laundry room on the first floor of a home, two-car garages, and high ceilings (9 feet or more) on the first floor, according to the study.