Millennial Sentiment Trending More Positively About Purchasing Homes

Realtor.com® survey provides insight into consumers' views on the housing market

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Jun 25, 2015, 09:00 ET

MIAMI, June 25, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Realtor.com®, a leading provider of online real estate services operated by News Corp [Nasdaq: NWS, NWSA] subsidiary Move, Inc., today revealed that millennials have become more positive when it comes to taking the plunge into home ownership and are primed to gain market share in the second half of the year, based on the results of its consumer behavior survey of more than 12,000 respondents conducted from Jan. 1, 2015 to June 15, 2015.

Jonathan Smoke, chief economist for realtor.com®, revealed an in-depth analysis of these survey findings during Wednesday's Mortgage Availability for Millennials and Other First-Time Buyers panel discussion at the National Association of Real Estate Editors conference in Miami.

"Despite the slow indicators we saw earlier this year, 2015 is on pace to be one of the best years for housing since 2006 due to strong sales and higher than predicted home prices," said Smoke. "Additionally, we're observing an uptick in millennial traffic and sentiment that we expect will result in more first-time home buyer sales in the later part of the year."

Smoke went on to explain that first-timers are especially critical when it comes to the health of the market. "Historically, they're the largest demographic of home buyers and can have a dramatic impact on housing," he said.

Since the beginning of the year, realtor.com® has observed a slight increase in older millennials – between the ages of 25 and 34 years old – visiting its website and mobile applications with the goal of buying a home. In the first half of June, realtor.com® saw its share of traffic represented by older millennials looking for a home to purchase increase to 23 percent, as compared to 21 percent in January. In mid-June, it also observed its share of those looking for property to rent decrease to 20 percent, from 26 percent in January.

Another revealing metric is the number of millennials who intend to buy a home within the next three months. In mid-June, 65 percent of 25-34 year olds responding to the survey indicated that they intend to buy a home within three months, up from 54 percent in January. Additionally, older millennials and first-time buyers are very optimistic about buying. Both groups are slightly more likely than the average buyer to say that they are "very likely to purchase within the next 12 months."

"Last year, first-time buyer market share decreased as the year progressed and dropped all the way to 27 percent in the summer, according to data from the National Association of Realtors," stated Smoke. "This year, we're seeing an increase in millennial demand that points to a strengthening first-time buyer demographic. As the economy continues to grow over the next few years, we can expect first-timers to return to a healthy level of 40 percent of the market. A return to that level would add approximately 15 percent to the number of total homes sold."

In the first part of the year, millennials were held back by some significant market challenges and were especially impacted by the lack of affordable inventory. Forty-one percent of older millennial home buyers cited that they "have not yet found a house that meets their needs" as the biggest factor holding them back from a purchase. Other reasons included difficulty finding a good house within budget, not spending enough time looking, needing to improve credit score, lacking a down payment, and currently being in a lease.

Realtor.com® survey data is based on a daily representative sample of site visitors. This analysis is based on responses from Jan. 1, 2015 through June 15, 2015, which totaled over 12,000.

About Move, Inc. and realtor.com®

Move, Inc., a subsidiary of News Corp, is a leading provider of online real estate services. Move operates the realtor.com® website and mobile experiences, which connect people to the most important and accurate information they need to find their perfect home and to the REALTORS® whose expertise guides consumers through buying and selling. As the official website of the National Association of REALTORS®, realtor.com® empowers consumers to make smart home-buying, selling and renting decisions by leveraging its direct, real-time connections with more than 800 multiple listing services (MLS) via all types of computers, tablets and smartphones. In addition to the industry's most comprehensive and accurate information, Move's network of websites provides consumers a wealth of innovative tools, including Doorsteps®, Moving.com™, SeniorHousingNet^SM and others. Move supports real estate agents and brokerages by providing many services to grow their businesses, including ListHub™, the nation's leading listing syndicator and centralized intelligence platform for the real estate industry; TigerLead®; Top Producer® Systems; and FiveStreet^SM; as well as many free services. Move is based in the heart of Silicon Valley – in San Jose, Calif.

Forward-Looking Statements

This document contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's views and assumptions regarding future events and business performance as of the time the statements are made. Actual results may differ materially from these expectations due to changes in global economic, business, competitive market and regulatory and other factors. More detailed information about these and other factors that could affect future results is contained in News Corp's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The "forward-looking statements" included in this document are made only as of the date of this document and we do not have any obligation to publicly update any "forward-looking statements" to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, except as required by law.

Media Contact: Lexie Puckett, [email protected], 805.557.3151.

SOURCE realtor.com