High rents, high debt and increased competition are three things buyers overcame to purchase their first homes this year, according to a National Association of Realtors executive. The NAR released its 2015 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers on Nov. 5, which reported the percentage of mortgage originations that went to first-time buyers fell for the third straight year in a row to its second lowest level in history. “We know rents have been steadily rising in many markets and this has a direct impact on the abilities of many renters to save for a new home purchase,” NAR Director of Survey Research and Communications Jessica Lautz said. “Seventy-seven percent of first buyers were rentin.....