The Typical Homebuyer Is Older And Richer Than In Years Past
Typical homebuyers in the last year have been older and wealthier as affordability continues to challenge first-time buyers hoping to get into the housing market.
That’s according to the National Association of Realtors’ 2024 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, tracking transactions between July 2023 and June 2024.
The report found the share of first-time buyers fell to a historic low of 24%, down from 32% last year. First-time buyers had a median household income of $97,000.
At the same time, the average age of a homebuyer rose to all-time highs across all categories, 56 years overall (49 last year), 38 years for first-time buyers (35 last year), and 61 years for repeat buyers (58 last year).
The same trend is happening on the other side. The typical age of home sellers reached 63 years, the highest ever recorded.
“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.
“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. Meanwhile, current homeowners can more easily make housing trades using built-up housing equity for cash purchases or large down payments on dream homes.”
Married couples dominate the landscape, accounting for 62% of all buyers, but single female home shoppers saw a bump to 20%, with a particular leg-up for single female first-timers, seeing a 5% boost.
Given that trend, it’s unsurprising that 73% of recent buyers did not have a child under the age of 18 in their home, the highest share on record.
The share of single males fell to 8%, and unmarried couples slipped to 6%.
Sellers are listing their homes for a variety of reasons, mostly to do with moving closer to friends and family, the size of the home, and changing neighborhoods.
“Family support systems are influencing buying and selling decisions. Being close to friends and family is the top reason to sell, while buying a home convenient to friends and family continues to grow in importance,” said Lautz.
“Today’s buyers are less likely to be concerned with their work locations when purchasing, perhaps because of a higher share of older repeat buyers and remote work flexibility remaining a factor.”
Eighty-three percent of recent home buyers identified their ethnicity as White or Caucasian, while 7% identified as Black/African American, 6% identified as Hispanic/Latino, 4% identified as Asian/Pacific Islander, and 3% as some other ethnicity.