First-Time Buyers Account for Majority of Home Sales

First-time buyers accounted for 57.4% of home purchases in the Los Angeles area last year, according to Chicago Title’s 18th annual survey.

Other Los Angeles statistics from the study, “Who’s Buying Homes in America,” which samples 18 metropolitan areas across the country:

--Never-married single buyers in Los Angeles accounted for 36.2% of first-time purchasers.

--The median L.A. home price for first-time buyers declined from $183,600 in 1992 to $174,200 last year. For all L.A. buyers, the average home price fell 7% to $235,700 in 1993 from $253,200.

--Average monthly mortgage payment in Los Angeles was $1,335, the highest in the nation, but down significantly from $1,611 in 1992. The nation’s lowest average monthly mortgage payment was $659 in Cleveland. Average monthly mortgage payments for all U.S. buyers dropped to $1,015 from $1,064 in 1992.

--36.4% of Los Angeles buyers chose adjustable-rate mortgages, outpacing the national average of 22.2%.

--At 32.8 years of age, first-time buyers in Los Angeles were slightly older than the national average, 31.6 years.

--87.5% of L.A. home buyers were two-income families.

--Los Angeles buyers looked at an average of 13.3 homes before making a purchase, fewer than the 14.4 homes buyers viewed nationally.

--The median income of Los Angeles home buyers declined to $61,800 from $67,700. Nationally, the median household income of home purchasers climbed in 1993 to $60,800 from $58,800 in 1992.

The survey also found that home sales in the United States grew to 5.1 million units in 1993, just 5% below the all-time record high of 1978.

The Chicago Title & Trust Family of Title Insurers is the nation’s largest title insurance organization.