NAHB Study: Asian Buyers Spend The Most On Their Homes

Asian home buyers are willing to cough up the most cash for their next home compared to other races and ethnicities, according to a new study by the National Association of Home Builders. Asians expect to spend an average of $283,469, while whites will pay $205,775, Hispanics will pay $181,444, and African-Americans will pay $176,397, the study shows.

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NAHB notes that Asians tend to have the highest median household income, at $72,797, compared to $67,747 for whites, $50,221 for Hispanics, and $43,774 for African-Americans.

The study also showed that minority home buyers are usually younger than white non-Hispanic buyers: The median African-American buyer is 39 years old, Hispanic buyers are 37, Asian buyers are 36, and white buyers are 43.

"The new data reveals some interesting findings about home-buying preferences, broken down by race and ethnicity," says NAHB Chairman Kevin Kelly. The data provides “a window into the preferences of potential home buyers, allowing them to tailor things to better meet the needs of their customers."

For example, the study showed that Hispanics and African-Americans tend to want more bedrooms. Fifty-one percent of Hispanics and 49 percent of African-Americans said they want to have at least four bedrooms in their homes, compared to 44 percent of Asians and 36 percent of whites.

The majority of buyers from all backgrounds preferred the laundry room on the first floor of a home, two-car garages, and high ceilings (9 feet or more) on the first floor, according to the study.