First-time homebuyers in the U.S. are getting older. In 1991, the median age for a first-time homebuyer was 28, but by 2024, that number rose to 38, according to the ResiClub blog. However, this trend isn’t limited to first-time buyers—repeat homebuyers are also aging. In 1991, the median repeat homebuyer was 42 years old, compared with 2024, where the median repeat buyer was 61.
Rising home prices and affordability challenges over the past few years have played a role in this shift, but broader societal trends are also at work. In general, younger generations are postponing major life milestones compared with previous generations—spending more years in school, getting married later, buying homes later, and having children at older ages.
While delayed life events and fewer homebuyers in their 20s and 30s are helping to drive up the median age of repeat buyers too, part of the increase in repeat buyer’s age stems from the population skewing older as the giant Baby Boomer generation ages and birth rates decline.
Another factor is that older U.S. homeowners with substantial equity or even a paid-off primary residence are a little less sensitive to the recent mortgage rate shock. If they need to buy, some have taken the plunge over the past couple of years, avoiding 6% and 7% mortgage rates by simply paying all cash. Read more
