Americans Are Waiting Longer to Buy Their First Home

Elevated housing costs and mortgage rates are forcing first-time buyers to enter into homeownership much later in life. The typical age to buy a first home has risen from 33 years old in 2021 to 36 years old, the oldest on record, CBS News reports.

As Millennials pull back from the housing market, Baby Boomers are capitalizing on a less competitive homebuying landscape. Boomers, ages 58 to 76, made up the largest share of U.S. homebuyers in 2022 at 39%, compared with 28% of Millennials actively purchasing homes.

"[Baby boomers] have built housing equity over their working lives, and they have been able to build wealth, and now they're buying their dream vacation home or their second home," Washington Post business reporter Julian Mark told CBS News. "They just have more money."

With three major downturns in their rear view mirror, millennials now face a challenging housing market in which fewer homes are available for sale, asking prices are more expensive, and interest rates have climbed past 7.1%. The national median home price hit $402,600 in July, up from $359,000 at the start of 2023; the typical mortgage on a single-family home is now $2,051 compared with $1,837 a year ago, according to NAR.

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