The DC Homebuyer Versus The Montgomery County Homebuyer

• March 24, 2020

by Nena Perry-Brown

The typical homebuyer in DC and Montgomery County is younger and has a higher income than buyers in the rest of the country. 

This was one of several nuggets of demographic information released in a recent analysis by the National Association of Realtors that delves into who the typical buyers and sellers are in the DC area. 

More specifically, the median homebuyer in DC is 38, five years younger than the median homebuyer in Montgomery County. Millennials, defined as 22-40 years old, comprise over half of buyers in DC and just over one-third of buyers in Montgomery County.

The typical DC buyer has a higher income and purchases a higher-priced home than the typical Montgomery County buyer, although DC buyers are only getting a 1,600 square-foot two-bedroom compared to the Montgomery County buyer's 2,300 square-foot three-bedroom. DC homebuyers purchase apartment-style units at twice the rate of Montgomery County homebuyers; over half of purchases in Montgomery County are detached houses.

The analysis also supposes what the potential home-seller looks like in each jurisdiction. Both the age and income gaps would narrow, with the average DC seller earning $145,000 at 51 years old compared to the average Montgomery County seller earning $154,000 at 54 years old. 

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/the-dc-homebuyer-versus-the-montgomery-county-buyer/16634