Some names may be destined to be taking up a larger percentage of your home shoppers, according to a new study. Home sales to buyers with the last names of Lin, Zhang, Wu, Liu, and Huang rose by more than 20 percent in 2017 compared to 2016. On the other hand, buyers with the last names of Burns, Porter, Jenkins, and Cole fell by 15 percent or more, according to ATTOM Data Solution’s analysis of home buyer surnames in 2017.
Researchers looked at buyer last names on more than 2.3 million single-family home sales deeds across the country in 2016 and 2017 to find the hottest names based on percentage increase in home purchases. They also looked at the family origin information from Ancestry.com, and where these buyer names are most active by local market. Their research found that the top eight hottest home buyer last names in 2017 were of Chinese origin.
The hottest homebuyer last names in 2017 varied drastically by state. For example, “Larson” was the most popular in Florida and California; “Anderson” in Montana and Oklahoma; “Miller” in Kansas and New Mexico; “Nguyen” in Louisiana and Oregon; “Walker” in Alabama and South Carolina; “Mitchell” was in Nevada; and “Morales” in Colorado. “Liu” was the only last name that registered as the hottest in three states: Maryland (up 74 percent in 2017 home purchases); Pennsylvania (up 64%); and Washington (up 68%).
The hottest home buyer last names also varied by metro area. Overall, the hottest buyer last name was Smith in eight of 64 metro areas studied—Dayton, Ohio; Des Moines, Iowa; Fayetteville, Ark.; Greeley, Colo.; North Port-Sarasota, Fla.; Spokane, Wash.; Winston-Salem, N.C.; and Worcester, Mass. The last name “Johnson” was the hottest home buyer last name in five metros.
View the full interactive map and chart
here.
Source: ATTOM Data Solutions
