I have had the pleasure of working with a number of first time home buyers over the years and after reading the National Association of Realtors report on first time home buyers, I have to agree that the first time home buyers I am seeing these days are a bit different than in years past.

The NAR report states that the median age of these buyers is up to 31, from 30 in 2007 and they are putting twice as much money down (4% vs 2%) compared to 2007. Even more promising is that the first time buyers are making up more the buying population in 2008 (41%) compared to (39%) in 2007.

For the Cincinnati Real Estate market recovery that is a very good thing. Every first time home buyer helps absorb homes from the current inventory, without adding their house into the mix. This increase in first time buyers and the apparent slowing of the foreclosure crisis could be leading indicators that our local market may stabilizing in the year to come.

If you are planning to sell your home in the near future, here is some information that might be of interest. The National Association of Realtors has found that the top ten preferences that buyers are most interested in when searching for a home are:

• Central Air Conditioning
  
• Garage (2 or more spaces)
  
• Walk-in closet in master bedroom
  
• Backyard/play area
  
• Cable/Satellite TV-ready
  
• High-speed Internet Access
  
• Separate shower enclosure in master/main bath
  
• Patio
  
• Fencing
  
• Home less than 10 years old