First-time homebuyers are older than ever in the US: Report

NEW YORK (PIX11) – Americans are buying their first homes older than ever, according to a new report from the National Association of Realtors. 

The median age for first-time homebuyers hit 38 years old between July 2023 and June 2024, up from 35 just a year before. As recently as 2010, the median age of a first-time buyer was 31. 

The median age for all buyers is 56, and for repeat buyers, 61 – both all-time highs. 

First-time buyers had a median income of $97,000 between June 2023 and July 2024, an increase from the year before, according to the study. A record number of new buyers, 26%, used cash to purchase their homes. 

“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,” said Jessica Lautz, vice president of research for the National Association of Realtors. 

New buyers made up a smaller share of the housing market than ever before. First-time buyers made up only 24% of sales between June 2023 and July 2024, compared to 32% the year before, according to the study.