First-time home buying falls to historic low

The median price of a new U.S. home was $296,00 in September.
The median price of a new U.S. home was $296,00 in September.

The percentage U.S. homes sold to first-time buyers this year fell to the lowest level in almost 30 years.

The percentage fell for the third consecutive year to 32 percent in 2015 from 33 percent last year, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported.

That was the smallest percentage of home sold to first-time buyers since 1987.

The NAR, which has been collecting such data since 1981, says first-time home buyers historically have accounted for 40 percent of U.S. home sales.

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The data raise concern that if too many young Americans remain renters, current home owners will struggle to sell their properties.

The median price of an existing home in September was $221,900, up 6.1 percent from September 2014, according to the Commerce Department.

The agency also reported that the median price of a new home was $296,000 in September, up from $261,500 a year earlier. [Wall Street Journal] — Mike Seemuth