By JEFF BETSILL

Today's home builders work harder than ever to satisfy home buyers.

But before they can truly please their customers, home builders have to know what types of people are buying new homes.

At one time, most home buyers were middle-class couples with one income and children. Such a couple might buy a bigger or better home once Dad grasped a higher rung on the corporate ladder. But, otherwise, they stayed put, even after retirement.

Times have changed.

Modern-day home buyers don't necessarily resemble the all-American family of yesteryear. In fact, a recent report compiled by the Dragonette Company of Chicago for the National Association of Real Estate Editors stated that the traditional home buyer would account for less than 25 percent of all home buyers by the year 2000. And many home buyers will fall into more than one demographic category.

So who are today's home buyers?

A number of recent home buyers are single. After all, you don't need a spouse, a dog and two kids to qualify for a mortgage. A prosperous economy and many new home financing options have made home ownership affordable to more individuals.

According to the Dragonette Company's report, singles will account for 3 percent of all first-time buyers at the turn of the century.

As the result of high divorce rates, more and more single parents are buying homes. Those people are considered “single” home buyers. Others who fall into that category are singles who buy homes together, each footing half the bill.

Senior citizens comprise another demographic group of home buyers. They are moving out of their “empty nest” homes into smaller, more practical housing. Some retirees are buying homes in seniors' housing communities.

Others prefer moving into smaller houses in more traditional-style neighborhoods with families of all ages. But all senior citizen home buyers agree on what's most important in a home — lots of amenities and convenience.

The senior citizen home buyer contingent will continue to grow as people continue to live longer and healthier lives and the Baby Boomer generation moves past middle age.

Unlike their parents, boomers are not usually attached to a neighborhood because they've lived in more spread out, transient communities. So they are more likely to make a move after they retire.

Also, more and more minorities now qualify for mortgages and are buying their first homes. According to the National Association of Home Builders' 1998 State of the Nation's Housing report, minority households contributed to over 40 percent of the recent growth in home ownership.

In fact, Hispanic and Asian populations are forming households more rapidly than any other ethnic groups and will be buying a great number of houses from now well into the first part of the 21st century. A steadily increasing number of African-Americans is also purchasing homes.

Finally, extended families make up another new batch of home buyers. Senior citizens are living with their children; young adults are moving back in with their parents and divorced singles with children are marrying each other and combining their families.

Today's many different home buyers want various types of housing. Fortunately, most of them can get exactly what they want because home builders aim to please.