Between 1988 and 1989, about 1. 7 million American householders moved into the first home they ever owned. These persons composed 3 percent of all homeowners and 36 percent of all owners who had moved into their houses during this period.

This Brief focuses on these new first-time owners. The U.S. Census Bureau collected these data in the American Housing Survey (AHS) during fall 1989. Respondents were asked if they had moved into their present home in the past year. Owners who had moved into their first home during the past year are classified as "new" first-time homeowners. "Other recent movers" are owners who moved into a home during this period, but whose home wasn't  their first. These groups are compared with all other owners.