The average age of homebuyers in the United States reached an all-time high of 56 years in 2024, up from 49 in 2023, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Recorded from July 2023 to July 2024, the average age of first-time buyers also rose from 35 to 38, and from 58 to 61 for repeat buyers.
NAR released its annual housing market report on Monday, highlighting that while homebuyers’ ages hit historic highs, the first-time homebuyer market share hit a historic low of 24%. Prior to 2008, according to NAR, the historical norm of first-time buyers was 40%.
Also noted in 2024 is a record-high 26% of buyers paying for their homes in cash.
“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 deputy chief economist and vice president of research.
NAR found that 73% of recent homebuyers did not have a child under the age of 18 in their home – the highest share recorded.
“First-time buyers face high home prices, high mortgage interest rates and limited inventory, making them a decade older with significantly higher incomes than previous generations of buyers,” continued Lautz. “Meanwhile, current homeowners can more easily make housing trades using built-up housing equity for cash purchases or large down payments on dream homes.”
Other mentionable statistics included within NAR’s findings for the characteristics of homebuyers are that 62% of recent buyers were married couples, 20% were single females, 8% were single males, and 6% were unmarried couples.