First-Time Homebuyers Are Older Than Ever As Affordability Crisis Takes Toll

The typical age of first-time homebuyers reached a record high in 2025, according to a new report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

The median age of a first-time home buyer rose to 40 in 2025, up from 38 in 2024, according to the NAR’s Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers released Tuesday. The median sale price of a home currently stands at $410,800 — up more than 25% since 2019 — while the average 30-year mortgage rate is roughly double what it was in late 2021.

As recently as 2021, the median age for first-time buyers was 33, according to the NAR. In 1981, when the survey was first conducted, the median age was just 29.

Over the past year, first-time buyers accounted for only 21% of the market, the lowest share since the NAR began collecting data. The NAR warned that delaying homeownership until age 40 instead of 30 could cost Americans roughly $150,000 in equity on a typical starter home.

“The historically low share of first-time buyers underscores the real-world consequences of a housing market starved for affordable inventory,” said NAR Deputy Chief Economist and Vice President of Research Jessica Lautz. “The share of first-time buyers in the market has contracted by 50% since 2007 – right before the Great Recession. The implications for the housing market are staggering.”

“Today’s first-time buyers are building less housing wealth and will likely have fewer moves over a lifetime as a result,” Lautz added.