The share of first-time home buyers has fallen to its lowest level on record over the last year as young adults face a longer path to homeownership, NAR data shows. As the housing market surged last year, a typically large segment of home buyers went missing. Amid higher home prices, bidding wars and fierce competition for limited inventory, first-time home buyers dropped to their lowest numbers on...

Cybercriminals aim to take advantage of those who aren’t familiar with the nuances of the closing process. Younger home buyers who don’t have prior experience in the real estate market may be more naive to the red flags of wire fraud. That’s why scammers likely are targeting first-time buyers, which means you need to beef up on cybersecurity best practices and share ways to thwart common...