Summary

We construct a measure of households’ maximum affordable house purchase prices based on the requirements embedded in the Norwegian mortgage-based regulation and apply this to residents aged 20 to 35 years in the Oslo region. We then use this measure to provide several stylized facts about first-time buyers over the period 2011 to 2023 where house prices rose faster than incomes. We find that the aggregate share of the population between 20 and 35 years in this region becoming homeowners in a given year has remained quite stable. However, this average masks important differences: the share fell across all affordability groups except the top 10 percent, and the first-time buyers are becoming somewhat older. Moreover, we find that first-time buyers rely more on equity injections than before, especially those with low maximum affordable purchase prices. The size and number of rooms of purchased dwellings have been broadly stable over time and differ little across affordability groups. Lastly, we find that firsttime buyers have more savings available at the time of purchase, consistent with households delaying purchase to accumulate more equity.