According to new data from the National Association of Realtors, or NAR, the typical first-time buyer now has a median age of 38 up from 35 in 2023. By comparison, first-time homebuyers in the 1980s were usually in their late 20s, according to the NAR.
As affordability concerns prompt many Americans to postpone buying homes, first-time buyers now account for only 24% of the market share a decrease from last year's 32% and the lowest percentage since the NAR began collecting data in 1981.
As of September, the median sales price of a home in the US was $404,500, according to NAR. The typical first-time homebuyer is richer than ever, too. In 2024, they had a median household income of $97,000, up from $95,900 in 2023 and $71,000 in 2022.First-time buyers largely have the pandemic's housing boom to blame for their homebuying woes.
The government stimulus provided during the early days of the pandemic, coupled with extremely low mortgage rates, sparked one of the most pronounced housing booms in US history.
Those who managed to buy homes during this period have accumulated significant equity, while those who were unable to enter the market have found themselves shut out, facing a shortage of available homes, higher mortgage rates, and living This has been especially devastating for younger Americans — Gen Zers and millennials — whose wages haven't kept pace with the financial requirements to buy a home. This has placed many first-time buyers at a crossroads, prompting some to postpone buying a home or abandon the idea of homeownership altogether.
