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New Survey Finds Philadelphia Region Is A Good Place To Buy Your First Home

By Pat Loeb

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Philadelphia region seems to have escaped a disturbing national trend in home sales.

The National Association of Realtors' annual survey found that first time homebuyers made up just 33 percent of the market, nationally. That's the lowest rate in nearly 30 years. Historically, it's been about 40 percent.

But research director Jessica Lautz says a geographic breakdown shows the Mid-Atlantic-- Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York-- with a different story.

"While many areas of the country are showing this huge dip in first time homebuyers, we're not actually seeing that in the mid-Atlantic. In fact, the first time homebuyer share is at 42 percent, which is a little bit higher than the historical average."

Lautz says higher wages and greater job opportunities in the Mid-Atlantic may be why that market remains robust here.

She says, though, first-time homebuyers face many of the same challenges here as elsewhere: a tight mortgage market and student loan debt that makes saving for a downpayment difficult.

 

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