Median age of first-time US home buyer hits shocking new high — as dire state of real estate market is laid bare

America’s residential real estate market has hit a series of unfortunate new records this year, with the age of the median first-time homebuyer skyrocketing.

The typical new homeowner is officially 40 years old, according to new data released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) as part of their annual profile of homebuyers and home sellers.

The median age is a high watermark for the U.S. real estate market, up from 38 years old in 2024 and 33 years old in 2020.

In a new low since NAR began tracking this data in 1981, first-time buyers who signed along the dotted line in 2025 made up just 21% of all U.S. home purchases. 

First-timer households earned a median income of $94,400 in 2025, marking a slight decline from last year’s report.

These buyers have had to budget for economic uncertainty, stubbornly high lending rates, and tight housing supplies that have pushed up prices. Most have also had to save for a down payment of at least 10%. 

In another all-time low, just 24% of surveyed homebuyers had children, and 21% said childcare expenses held them back from saving for a down payment.

And the unsettling records kept coming. The median age of repeat buyers, at 62 years old, and the median age of all homebuyers, at 59 years old, both set new benchmarks in NAR’s data.

Tighter housing supplies are hindering new buyers. Americans who sold their homes in 2025 had typically owned them for 11 years, according to NAR.

Cash dominated in 2025, with cash-rich buyers who could forgo traditional financing making up a record 26% of home sales this year.

Despite the record-high doom and gloom of this year’s NAR data, there is a glimmer of hope.

Young homebuyers can find home in the ongoing housing market shake-up. Average 30-year mortgage rates reached a one-year low last week at 6.17%, Realtor.com reported. 

Home prices across the country are also slowing their climbs. Weaker price growth has been documented across the country this year, the outlet noted, with some actual price declines documented in some Southern and Western markets. 

Continued improvement in buying conditions could go a long way in shrinking the country’s growing generational wealth gap — and help young people achieve the American dream before they go gray.