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Homebuyer Education by the Numbers
For prospective homebuyers, understanding the process of purchasing a home can be an important investment.
Alaska Housing has two free homebuyer education courses, Finally Home! and HomeChoice™, that can provide useful information about the process. Together, they have helped more than 90% of prospective homebuyers who completed the courses feel more confident about purchasing a home. The courses also saved homebuyers money on closing costs.
Lenders and real estate professionals can play an important role in helping potential buyers get off to a good start by referring them to Alaska Housing’s homebuyer education sessions. For Finally Home! participants, 59% were referred by a lender.
Who Is Participating?
The education sessions help people understand the homebuying process. So it makes sense that most of the participants are first-time homebuyers.
Women make up the majority of our Finally Home! participants.
Because most of the people in Alaska Housing’s education courses are first-time buyers, the majority of our Finally Home! participants are under the age of 35.
Where Are Participants From?
Participants in the homebuyer education courses come from all over the state. There are five communities that consistently have the most participants in HomeChoice™ over the past three years.
Similarly, there are five communities that have the most participants in Finally Home! during the same time period.
The majority of participants come from the Anchorage/Mat-Su Valley Region. Through February 2022, 59.6% of participants in our homebuyer education programs were from that region. By comparison, that region makes up 54.3% of Alaska’s population.
Only one other region of the state had a higher percentage of participants in homebuyer education programs than its percentage of the state’s population. Residents of the Interior Region made up 17% of participants in homebuyer programs, while the region makes up 14.9% of the state’s population.
Are More Participants From Urban Or Rural Settings?
The majority of our participants reported that they are from more populated areas. Of those who say they live in urban areas, the highest percentage of participant population by age group is 25 years of age and under. The highest percentage of participants who reported coming from rural areas is over 55 years.
What Are Income Levels For Participants?
The area median income (AMI) of a region is determined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and adjusted based on family and household size.
Nearly 90% of Finally Home! participants said they were at 100% of AMI. Of that segment, 64% were between 30-79% AMI.
About Homebuyer Education Courses
- HomeChoice™ is a six-hour class, held over three days, that is currently offered by webinar. Experts discuss a variety of topics, including how to shop for a lender or real estate professional, how to get a loan, purchase and sale contracts, and many other vital components of buying a home.
- FinallyHome! is an online home study course that can be taken at your leisure. It provides similar information to HomeChoice.
Sign Up For Classes Today
Ready to learn more about the homebuying process or share the information with someone who is? Register for one of our education sessions.
Editor's note: Data contributed by Maria Celli, HomeChoice™ instructor.