Overwhelmingly, home buyers have purchased detached single-family homes more than any other type of home in the last 35 years. Since 1981, the Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers has collected data on the types of homes purchased throughout the three-and-a-half decades. Consistently, 74 to 88 percent of home buyers purchased single-family homes each year. Home buyers purchased townhomes and condos each at roughly 10 percent of the time and other types of homes less frequently.
In 1981, 76 percent of home buyers bought detached single-family homes, eight percent bought townhomes, and 16 percent bought condos. By comparison in 2015, 83 percent bought detached single-family homes, seven percent bought townhomes, and three percent bought condos.
Single-family homes were the top home choice in 1985 at 88 percent, and again at 87 percent in 2002 and 2004. From 1985 to 2002, four in five buyers steadily purchased single-family homes. From 2005 to 2012, three in four buyers bought single-family homes. Townhome purchases hovered around nine percent for the majority of the 1990s and early 2000s and then dropped one to two points since 2008. Condo purchases were most popular from 1997 to 2007 at 11 percent for several years, but also dropped a few percentage points starting in 2008. By 2015, only three percent of homes purchased were condos. Other home types started gaining popularity in 2003 at two percent and have grown in market share to seven percent by 2015.
To follow this series as we discuss the findings of 35 years of profile data, check out the hashtag #NARHBSat35 on your social channels. NAR Research will be releasing trend line data since 1981 to celebrate 35 years of home buyer and seller demographic research.
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