Asian American Home Buying Rebounds Post-Pandemic

Early in the pandemic, Asian American homebuyers saw a sharp decline in activity possibly due to safety concerns, but recent data suggest a growing share of home sales post-pandemic.

To commemorate the Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Realtor.com with authors Jiayi Xu and Hannah Jones, took a closer look at how Asian American homebuyers have interacted with the housing market in recent years.

 

Asian Americans as compared with Non-Asian American Homebuyers

Despite the fact that Asian American homebuyers faced major hurdles during the outbreak of COVID-19, they show the largest homeownership rate increase in recent years. Between October 2020 and December 2021, the average Home Sales Index (HSI) for Asian customers soared to 154, or 30.8% higher than their pre-pandemic levels and 19.6% faster than Non-Asians.

 

Asian American Millennials Outrun Non-Asian Millennials in Homebuying Post-Pandemic

Asian American millennials began buying homes at a faster pace than non-Asian American millennials after the early pandemic stage, reaching a peak HSI of 196.5 in June 2021, compared to 175.5 for non-Asian American millennials in the same month.

 

Asian American Millennials Surpasses Other Generations

All generations recovered in the months after the pandemic began, although millennials surpassed older generations. Homebuying activity among millennials increased by 59% over pre-pandemic levels, but activity among older generations increased by only 45% to 49% on average.

 

Asian American Females As compared With Asian American Male Homebuyers

Male and female Asian American buyers were affected similarly by the pandemic. However, Asian American female homebuyers recovered faster than Asian American males after the pandemic, with the ladies having an HSI 8% higher than Asian American males on average between July 2020 and December 2021.