It is a marker of the challenges of getting on the property train in the U.S. these days: The typical homebuyer today is older than ever, as well as wealthier, new data shows.
The average age of homebuyers in 2024 was 56, a record high, according to a report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), highlighting the impact of soaring housing prices and elevated mortgage rates. That’s up from 49-years-old last year, the trade group found.
First-time buyers also tend to be older. The median first-time buyer this year was 38-years-old, up from 35 in 2023. Roughly a quarter of those getting into homeownership were first-time buyers, down from 32% last year and the lowest share since NAR started tracking those numbers in 1981.
“First-time buyers face high home prices, high mortgage interest rates and limited inventory, making them a decade older with significantly higher incomes than previous generations of buyers,” NAR deputy chief economist Jessica Lautz said in a statement.
A record share of U.S. homes are valued at $1 million or more, with tight supply driving prices up to record highs across the nation, a recent Redfin report shows. In the largest U.S. cities, even people with relatively high incomes struggle to afford homeownership.
Through September, the price of single-family homes rose 3.4% from a year ago, according to CoreLogic. The median sale price in September was roughly $427,500, according to Redfin.
