Our renters & first time home buyers mailing lists are invaluable to real estate and mortgage brokers looking to increase their business. According to a study by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), most renters want to own a home.

Here are some numbers that help us make sense of the market:

In 2024, first-time homebuyers made up 24% of all home buyers in the United States. This was a decrease from 32% in 2023.  Yes, homes are expensive out there – and there aren’ta lot of affordable ones.

First-time homebuyer demographics

• The median age of first-time homebuyers in 2024 was 38 years old, an all-time high.
• 75% of Younger Millennials (ages 25–33) were first-time homebuyers.
• 54% of Gen Xers were first-time homebuyers.
• 44% of Older Millennials were first-time homebuyers.
• 24% of first-time buyers were single females.
• 12% of first-time buyers were unmarried couples.
• 11% of first-time buyers were single males

The U.S. housing market is split into two groups: first-time buyers struggling to enter the market and current homeowners buying with cash,” said Jessica Lautz, NAR deputy chief economist and vice president of research. “First-time buyers face high home prices, high mortgage interest rates and limited inventory, making them a decade older with significantly higher incomes than previous generations of buyers. Meanwhile, current homeowners can more easily make housing trades using built-up housing equity for cash purchases or large down payments on dream homes.

If you’re trying to make a plan for marketing to this group, and target the best possible prospects for your campaign – in 2024, the median down payment for first-time home buyers was 9%, 25% financed through an FHA loan. First-time buyers continue to rely on savings (69%); however, 25% used loans or gifts from friends and family, 21% used financial assets and an all-time high of 7% used inheritances. A record 26% of home buyers paid cash for their homes.

Another very interesting fact – because of high home values and affordability, many first-time home buyers are choosing to “double up” their families. For example, seventeen percent of home buyers purchased a multigenerational home.  Reasons: cost savings (36%), to take care of aging parents (25%), children over the age of 18 moving back home (21%), and children over the age of 18 who never left home (20%).

The good news: Millennials are aging up. When mortgage rates go down, expect this group to become a massive first-time home buyer segment. The key is marketing credit down payment assistance and credit opportunities.

Bottom line for the mortgage industry is the fact that first-time home buyers want to buy a home.

Renters & First Time Home Buyer Mailing Lists

Our First Time Home Buyers list is strategically modeled. This proprietary overlay lets us select those Renters who are the absolute best prospects for buying their first home. This unique model uses lots of demographics and behavioral data. Some of the elements we use include age, income, modeled credit, dwelling unit size, and length of residence. We also use marital status and ethnicity to help pinpoint those Renters that are most likely to become First Time Home buyers. Consequently, the First Time Home Buyer overlay really enhances the basic renter data.

A study was done by Genworth Mortgage Insurance Group. They showed that first-time home buyers accounted for 56 percent of new purchase loans in 2018.  While the number dropped slightly in 2019 to 39%, this group is still your bread and butter. If you are looking for originations, this is your top market and you need to work it. You need to reach out to this group multiple times, using multiple marketing channels, so they remember your name.

There are also lots of Renters who are great prospects for other offers. These include banking, rental leases, medical practices and houses of worship. There are over 22 million Renter households in the US. Not all of them are home buyer prospects. We help you select the group that will work best for your offer.

Dataman Group offers 3 different Renter mailing lists

• First Time Home Buyers – Almost 40% of home buyer transactions are First Time Home buyers. This list of renters has been been statistically modeled to be the absolute best prospects for buying their first home. Mortgage companies mail to them to pre-qualify them for a loan Real estate brokers, builders and developers mail to them to sell them a home.
• Hispanic First Time Home Buyers – A great market. There are over 400,000 Hispanic First Time home Buyers in the U.S. Hispanics are the only ethnic demographic to have increased their home ownership rate for three consecutive years and, according to the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate professionals, 51% of new First Time Home Buyer transactions were Hispanic Households.
• Bona-fide Renters – Our bona-fide renters list is not just a list of people who live in apartments. Renters may also live in single family homes or town homes and our list lets you target them. The Banking & Credit Card industry direct mails to the basic Renter list since many of them are under-banked and represent great banking potential.

Marketing Tip

Among first-time home buyers this year, 32% depended on family or friends for financial help.

According to the 2019 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, the annual National Association of REALTORS® report, this support came from gifts or loans. Another concern is that Millennial home buyers  are more likely than their older counterparts to fund their down payment and closing costs by dipping into retirement savings. A recent study by Bankrate found that 13% of Millennials are doing this. Another fact is that 33% of millennial homeowners say they used a down payment assistance program or grant for their down payment.

Remember to stress credit down payment assistance and credit opportunities in your marketing materials.

Want your list now?

You can order our General Renters list on-line – day or night. If you want counts, information and pricing on our First-Time Home Buyers List or our Hispanic First Time Home Buyers lists please call our office and we’ll get your list to you within the hour.

USPS Mailing Tip

Many renters are transient. We can slug in the words “Or Current Resident” on the 2nd line to insure delivery.  Also, you can request to omit any MFDU address without a unit #. That will also help increase your ROI. Also, remember to have your mail included in the USPS Informed Delivery program. This way you can get some digital impressions along with your physical mail.

Want to Learn More?

NAR’s Aspiring Home Buyers Profile analyzed 2018 quarterly consumer insights from its Housing Opportunities and Market Experience (HOME) survey to capture the housing expectations and sentiment of non-homeowners – both renters and those living with a family member.

Bottom Line

Postcards are highly effective. Low cost, easy to mail – get out there and mail to renters and first-time home buyers now!