Golden handcuffs keep Arkansas homeowners locked in
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First-time homebuyers received 56% of mortgage offers in Arkansas in 2023 —third-lowest in the U.S. — per a recent LendingTree report.
Why it matters: It's one more sign that current homeowners are still feeling the golden handcuffs effect of not wanting to give up existing low-rate mortgages, Axios' Brianna Crane writes.
The big picture: Nationwide, 65% of mortgage offers went to first-time homebuyers in 2023, per the report.
- Over the past five years, the share of first-time buyers has increased.
Zoom in: The average selling price for a single-family home during the second half of 2023 was $420,144 in Benton County and $386,695 in Washington County, according to the latest Arvest Skyline Report.
Between the lines: However, fewer people overall took out mortgages in 2023. "First-time buyers simply appear to make up a larger portion of a relatively small pool of buyers," says Lending Tree senior economist Jacob Channel.
Zoom out: The largest share of offers went to first-time buyers in high-cost areas — including New York, California and New Jersey, where current homeowners are especially reluctant to give up their low mortgage rates — per the report.
- The lowest shares were in South Dakota (54.2%), Alaska (54.3%) and the Natural State.
Most mortgage offers went to first-time buyers in every state.
What's next: "As rates decline, we'll likely see more repeat buyers jump back into the housing market," Channel says.
Go deeper: Inside Biden's plan to unlock the housing market's golden handcuffs