The following information is provided by the Center for REALTOR® Development (CRD).
Current and former military are a huge demographic segment in the U.S.
According to the most recent Demographics Report (2015) from Military OneSource, prepared for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) across active duty and reserve populations, there are 2.1 million military personnel. Over half are married, and 41 percent have children. Add to that the 2.7 million additional family members of these individuals, and you’ve got a total of about 5 million people. Of these, 87.5 percent (roughly 4.4 million) reside in the U.S.
The 10 states with the highest populations of active military personnel include (in order): California, Virginia, Texas, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Washington, Hawaii, South Carolina, and Colorado. Military families move every two to three years. Ten moves over a 20-year career are not unusual.
Add active duty military to the 21.3 million veterans in the U.S., according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and you get a total of 25.7 million military-related individuals living in the United States. The U.S. population for 2015 was 321 million.
So, at a national level, former and current military comprise 8 percent of the general public. That’s approximately one out of every 12 people. In some states, the percentage is even higher—for example, in Alaska, 14 percent of the population are veterans.
A quarter of the country’s veterans live in rural areas. Generally-speaking, they prefer smaller metro areas near military bases over larger cities. Veterans are homeowners at a much higher rate than the general public, and this is borne out by the research done by NAR’s Research & Statistics division in its annual Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers.
According to NAR’s Economist’s Outlook Blog, the percentage of recent homebuyers who were military or veterans for 2017 was 21 percent. What that means is that the military and veterans are purchasing homes at a rate that is roughly twice that of their proportion within the general population.
Here are some other interesting related findings that emerged from NAR’s 2017 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers:
- On average, active-duty servicemember buyers were typically 34 years old, and veteran buyers were 59 years old.
- When searching for their home, 90 percent of active-duty servicemembers and 84 percent of veteran homebuyers bought their home through a real estate agent or broker.
- The median price of a home active-duty military bought was $252,000, and $230,000 for veterans.
- Ninety-six percent were satisfied with their home-buying process.
For even more information about active-duty servicemembers and veteran homebuyers, see the Highlights From the 2017 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers.
To ensure real estate practitioner success in any geographic area, an awareness of the military market and an understanding of how to meet their needs cannot be understated. Learning how to serve the military market starts with understanding their needs, wants, concerns, and learning about the processes and procedures that they face.
For more education about serving the military market, check out this month’s featured online course for 25 percent off at the Center for REALTOR® Development, the Military Relocation Professional (MRP) Certification Course, which is the educational requirement for NAR’s Military Relocation Professional (MRP) certification.
For more information, please visit RISMedia’s online learning portal from NAR’s Center for REALTOR® Development (CRD) and the Learning Library. Here, real estate professionals can sign up for online professional development courses, industry designations, certifications, CE credits, Code of Ethics programs and more. NAR’s CRD also offers monthly specials and important education updates. New users will need to register for an account.
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