{"id":19648,"date":"2019-06-21T10:03:01","date_gmt":"2019-06-21T18:03:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/associatednews.info\/content\/1st-time-homebuyers-are-getting-squeezed-out-by-investors\/"},"modified":"2019-06-21T10:03:01","modified_gmt":"2019-06-21T18:03:01","slug":"1st-time-homebuyers-are-getting-squeezed-out-by-investors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/associatednews.info\/content\/1st-time-homebuyers-are-getting-squeezed-out-by-investors\/","title":{"rendered":"1st-Time Homebuyers Are Getting Squeezed Out By Investors"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Amy Scott<\/a><\/span> <\/p>\n

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\n As investors play a growing role in the housing market, many first-time buyers are having a hard time finding a home.<\/p>\n

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Marcio Jose Sanchez\/AP<\/p>\n

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Marcio Jose Sanchez\/AP<\/p>\n

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It’s gotten a lot harder for first-time homebuyers to nab that dream house. The pool of smaller, affordable starter houses is low. And increasingly, first-time homebuyers are competing with investors who are buying up these homes. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Last year, investors accounted for 1 in 5 starter-priced homes, according to data released by CoreLogic<\/a> on Thursday. The rate of investor purchases of starter homes has been rising and has nearly doubled since 1999.<\/p>\n

Tonya Jones, a Realtor in metro Atlanta, says it is frustrating both for agents and for their first-time homebuying clients when they can’t compete with investors.<\/p>\n

First-time buyers typically put down 3% to 5%, Jones said. “Then they’re walking in competing with an all-cash buyer who can close whenever that seller is ready,” she said. “Typically, a first-time homebuyer can’t work under those parameters.”<\/p>\n

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Investors have always made up a big part of the market for starter homes. But smaller investors are playing a growing role. Last year, these mom and pop investors represented 60% of investor purchases \u2014 up from 48% in 2013, CoreLogic said.<\/p>\n

As investors snap up more properties, they’re helping drive up prices in many cities nationwide. In May, the median price of existing homes was $277,700, up 4.8% from a year earlier, the National Associations of Realtors reported<\/a> Friday. For single-family homes, the median price was $280,200, up 4.6%. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Some regions saw a slowdown in home sales<\/a> at the end of 2018. And last month, sales of existing homes fell 1.1% from a year ago, even as median prices marked the 87th straight month of year-over-year growth, the NAR said.<\/p>\n