Buying a home used to be considered a rite of passage for many Americans. However, these days, the financial challenges of buying a home are simply too great for more and more individuals — and especially families. That difficult truth was exposed in a new report from the National Association of Realtors released this week.
It also showed the average age of homebuyers is now higher than ever.
According to the report, in 2024, the average homebuyer was 56-years-old. That’s seven years older than just last year, when the average age was 49. The median first-time buyer age also increased from 35 last year to 38.
The average homebuyer wasn’t just older, according to the report, but wealthier, which makes sense considering buying a home is now an immense financial feat that comes with soaring interest rates.
“In the last two years, first-time home buyer household income has grown by $26,000. This year’s report shows that the median household income of first-time home buyers was $97,000” which “underscores the hurdles to entering the housing market,” the report explained.
While most people still financed their homes (74 percent down from 80 percent the previous year) there were more all-cash payments this year. Twenty-six percent of home buyers paid cash—an all-time high—showcasing just how unappealing high interest rates have become.
The race gap when it comes to home buying has also grown since last year. In 2024, a whopping 83 percent of buyers were white, up from 81 percent. 36 percent of buyers were nonwhite, with just seven percent of buyers being Black, six percent Asian/Pacific Islander, and three percent identifying as another ethnicity.
For Black Americans, specifically, home ownership has been trending down in recent years. In 2022, mortgages for Black Americans fell by 16 percent, while the mortgage denial rate increased by 2.6 percentage points. Asian/Pacific Islander home ownership has been growing.
Another group who have struggled to buy homes this year? People with children. Seventy-three percent of recent buyers did not have a child under the age of 18 in their home — the highest rate on record. That statistic drives home just how modern expenses have altered the way families live. From groceries to childcare, families are strapped, immensely stressed, and home buying seems out of the realm of possibility for many.
Interestingly, solo women are a group who are buying their own homes more often. 20 percent of buyers were single women this year, up one point from 2023, while only eight percent of single men did the same. The steady climb for women supports recent findings about women living more independently, with fewer opting to get married and have children. According to a Morgan Stanley report, 45% of women between the ages of 25 and 44 are projected to be single and childless by 2030.
And if the lastest report is any indication, far more unmarried, child-free women will own homes by then, too.
