Typical homebuyer more likely to be older, single and a woman

By Alex Tanzi | Bloomberg

The age of a typical homebuyer jumped to an all-time high of 56 in the US, with many young people locked out of the housing market while older owners tap their accumulated home equity for cash purchases or to make large down payments, according to a report.

The share of first-time home buyers shrunk to 24%, the lowest in data going back to 1981, according to the National Association of Realtors’ 2024 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. The median age of a first-time buyer also reached a record of 38 — about a decade older than in the 1980s.

High prices and borrowing costs have created a bifurcated housing market, in which an increasing share of sales come from repeat buyers and richer households. In just two years, the median income of a first-time buyer has increased by $26,000 to $97,000.

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The NAR report, tracking transactions between July 2023 and June 2024, also shows a big jump in the share of single-women first-time buyers from a year earlier.

Here are some of the report’s findings:

Older buyers

Buyers of all types are getting older. First-time buyers are now typically three years older than last year and five years older than in 2019.

Meanwhile the typical repeat buyer is 61. They also tend to earn more than people who purchase their first house.

First-time buyers

Before the Great Recession, first-time home buyers held roughly a 40% share of the market. With affordability gauges hovering near record lows, that share has slumped in the past year.

More on homebuyers: Downpayments shrink from record highs

Underscoring the struggles prospective buyers are facing, about a quarter of first-time buyers used loans or gifts from friends or family to help make a down payment and an all-time high 7% relied on inheritances.

Single women

About a fifth of homes were bought by single women, compared with 8% by single men.

Empty nesters

An increasing share of homeowners are either childless or empty nesters, with 73% of all buyers having no child under 18 at home this year, up from 70% last year.

Conversely, the share of buyers with school-age children is at a historic low. The data once again underscore that people who can afford a house today are more likely to be older and already homeowners.

Distance

The median distance between new homes and previous residences was 20 miles in 2023 and 2024, up from 15 miles before that pandemic. In 2022, when work-from-home appeared to become a permanent fixture of the workplace, people moved 50 miles to their new homes.

Staying put

Before the Great Recession of 2008-2009, people stayed in their home for an average of about six years. Today, owners are holding onto their home for about 10 years. They’ve typically locked in low mortgage rates and are sitting on higher home equity, making them reluctant to move unless they have to.

Among the primary reasons to sell a house were being closer to friends or family, finding a bigger place or after a life change such as a divorce or having a child, according to the report.

White buyers

Buyers are increasingly White. Overall, 83% of buyers were White, up from 81% last year. About 7% of recent buyers identified as Black, 6% as Hispanic, 4% as Asian, and 3% as some other ethnicity.