Don’t be surprised if a 61-year-old white woman buys your house
Higher mortgage rates, skyrocketing home prices, tight credit and stagnant wages have all contributed to homebuyers getting older. Newly released data from the annual profile of home buyers and sellers by the National Association of Real Estate Agents (NAR) shows how dramatically this trend has manifested itself since the 2008 financial crisis.
The average age of homebuyers has reached a new all-time high, with first-time buyers at 38 and returning buyers at a whopping 61. Together, the average age of all home buyers is 56 years.
“The U.S. housing market is split into two groups: first-time buyers struggling to enter the market and current homeowners buying with cash,” said Jessica Lautz, NAR’s deputy chief economist and vice president of research, in a statement accompanying the report .
“First-time buyers are faced with high home prices, high mortgage interest rates and limited inventories, meaning they are ten years older and have significantly higher incomes than previous generations of buyers. Meanwhile, current homeowners can more easily make home transactions by using built-up equity for cash purchases or large down payments for dream homes.”
The trend line is surprising. In 2002 – around the same time the underlying causes of the 2008 financial crisis were taking root – there was significantly less difference in median age between first-time buyers (31) and repeat buyers (41).
While the average age of buyers gradually increased over two decades, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated this. Since 2020, the average age of buyers has increased by 11 years, including a 5-year spike among repeat buyers, who now make up 76% of the market – also a record high.
The data is part of NAR’s comprehensive annual report, which contains a wealth of data on buyers, sellers and real estate agents across a wide range of demographics.
Although single women have purchased a higher percentage of homes than single men since NAR began keeping the data in 1981, that gap has widened in the past two years. The share of houses bought by single women increased from 17% to 20% and the share bought by single men fell from 10% to 6%.
This movement is more dramatic among first-time buyers: the share of homes bought by single women increases from 19% in 2022 to 24% now, while the share bought by single men falls from 18% to 12%.
Home buyers are increasingly childless. In 2012, 59% of home buyers had no children under the age of 18. That number is now 73%. The average income of homebuyers has also skyrocketed, with first-time buyers earning an average of $97,000, while repeat buyers earn $114,300.
