US homebuyers are the oldest they’ve been in recorded history
New data from the National Association of Realtors, cited by our colleagues at Snacks, found that the median age of first-time homebuyers in the US is now 38 — up from last year’s 35 and marking the highest recorded age from data going back to 1981.
Rocketing house prices, still-high mortgage rates, and limited inventory all make owning a home an increasingly expensive part of the American dream.
The same NAR report also outlined that the median age of repeat buyers has soared to 61 years (nearly a third of whom paid with cash for their follow-up homes), while the median age of buyers overall has rocketed to 56 years, +44% from just two decades prior.
These factors indicate the growing prevalence of a “renter generation,” with fewer than one in four of all homes bought by first-timers. Even so, rent prices are still far outpacing wages in most major US cities: according to CNBC, the average hourly wage required to afford a one-bedroom dwelling is almost 3x the minimum wage in New York, 2.3x Los Angeles’ min wage, and 2.1x Chicago’s.
The same NAR report also outlined that the median age of repeat buyers has soared to 61 years (nearly a third of whom paid with cash for their follow-up homes), while the median age of buyers overall has rocketed to 56 years, +44% from just two decades prior.
These factors indicate the growing prevalence of a “renter generation,” with fewer than one in four of all homes bought by first-timers. Even so, rent prices are still far outpacing wages in most major US cities: according to CNBC, the average hourly wage required to afford a one-bedroom dwelling is almost 3x the minimum wage in New York, 2.3x Los Angeles’ min wage, and 2.1x Chicago’s.
