WASHINGTON (November 4, 2024) – The first-time homebuyer market share decreased to a historic low of 24% (down from 32% last year), while home buyers’ ages hit all-time highs of 56 years overall (49 last year), 38 years for first-time buyers (35 last year) and 61 years for repeat buyers (58 last year), according to the National Association of Realtors®' 2024 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers.1 This annual survey of recent home buyers and sellers – this year tracking transactions between July 2023 and June 2024 – has been NAR's flagship report since it first published in 1981, providing industry professionals insight into detailed homebuying and selling behavior.

“The U.S. housing market is split into two groups: first-time buyers struggling to enter the market and current homeowners buying with cash,” said Jessica Lautz, NAR deputy chief economist and vice president of research. “First-time buyers face high home prices, high mortgage interest rates and limited inventory, making them a decade older with significantly higher incomes than previous generations of buyers. Meanwhile, current homeowners can more easily make housing trades using built-up housing equity for cash purchases or large down payments on dream homes.”

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