Both first-time and repeat U.S. homebuyers are now the oldest on record, and the proportion of purchases by Black, Asian and Pacific Island Americans is the lowest since 1997, the latest evidence that it’s increasingly difficult to buy a home.
A typical first-time buyer was 36 this year, three years older than in 2021, data from the National Association of Realtors released Thursday showed. For repeat purchasers, it rose to 59, the NAR said.
The share of first-time homebuyers declined to 26% this year — the lowest since NAR records started in 1981 — and has been under the historical norm of 40% since 2011 “as buyers face tight inventory, rising home prices, rising rents, and high student debt loads,” the NAR said.
