Every home sold pumps $60,000 into the economy. What are these homes and who buys them?

Existing home prices have inched up a bit over the last month and new home sales rose 5.7 percent in September. In fact, every home sold adds $60,000 to the economy. Good news, but we thought we’d share what types of homes sell and who buys them. From houselogic.com come these interesting factoids.

• The typical home purchased was 1,780 sq. ft., was built in 1990 and had three bedrooms and two bathrooms, according to the 2010 National Association of Realtors survey.
• 44% of sellers offered incentives, such as home warranties and help with closing costs to attract buyers.
• Recent sellers typically sold their home for 96 percent of the listing price; 57 percent reduced the asking price at least once.
• More single females buy homes than single males. But, single male buyers grew by two percentage points between 2009 and 2010.
• The median price buyers paid for homes was $179,000.

There’s also some interesting info about renters and homeowners. Historically, homeowners’ net worth has ranged from 31 to 46 times that of renters. While a fixed-rate mortgage might not change for 15 to 30 years, rent typically increases three percent a year.

The housing industry and employment are still a long way from recovery, but Americans still believe that homeownership matters and that is a worthwhile goal.