The Median Age of Repeat Homebuyers is Increasing

The median age of a home buyer has risen from 31 in 1981 to 47 in 2019, according to research from the National Association of REALTORS®.

But the median age of the segment of first-time buyers has actually changed very little over the past three decades, staying between 28 to 32.

Instead, the number that has changed the most significantly since 1981 is the rise in the age of repeat buyers, Jessica Lautz, vice president of demographics and behavioral insights at the National Association of REALTORS®, notes in a post at NAR’s latest Economists’ Outlook blog. The median age of repeat buyers was 36 in 1981; it’s now 55.