Too tight lending: Percentage of first-timers dips

Approximately 31 percent of residential sales reported in August by members of the National Association of Realtors were made by first-time homebuyers, down from the normal percentage of 40, according to NAR’s Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers.

The proportion of first-time home buyers hit a peak of approximately 50 percent in 2009.

The decrease in first-time buyers in part reflects the difficulty of securing mortgage financing, delays with distressed sales, and purchases of lower priced properties by investors.

Approximately 27 percent of transactions were all cash, unchanged from July’s figure. The high preponderance of all-cash sales appears to be due to stricter mortgage underwriting standards, and purchases by investors and second home buyers, who frequently pay cash, possibly edging out buyers needing to secure a mortgage, NAR reported.