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The demographics of the nation's homebuyers have shifted. It's heavily shaping what the market of available houses looks like.
Homebuyers in 2025 have never been older. They've also never been more likely to be single or female.
Those changes have broad repercussions for the housing market, experts say.
According to the National Association of Realtors' 2024 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 73% of homebuyers in 1973 were married couples, 11% were single women, and 10% were single men. By 2024, the percentage of married couples had shrunk to 62%, and the number of single men had slipped to 8%, while the percentage of single women had jumped to 20%.
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“We’ve seen this demographic shift due to women attaining higher education levels leading to senior positions and greater financial independence," said Veronica Crego-Flores, managing broker at Tampa, Florida-based GenStone Realty. "As a result, many women are delaying marriage and choosing to invest in homeownership.”
The market has and will continue to change to match that shift, Crego-Flores said. That includes offering smaller homes in safe neighborhoods surrounded by amenities.
Paul Epperley, president of the Greater Fort Worth Association of Realtors in Texas, also stressed that while many people may think the single-women demographic that is buying homes is younger, those buyers actually represent people of all ages. He pointed to another reason for the demographic shift.
“It wasn’t that long ago that women couldn’t get a mortgage to buy a home," Epperley said. "In 1974, thanks to the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, women could buy a home independently. Since then, more women have entered the workforce and become the primary source of income for their families, allowing women to fulfill the American dream of homeownership.”
Robert Washington, broker at Savvy Buyers Realty in Florida, said many single women he has worked with on home purchases cite the feeling of independence and security it gives them.
“I also think the American Dream has changed for most women," Washington said. "A few decades ago, women were more likely to aspire toward getting married and having children rather than pursuing a career. Certainly for the better, that is no longer the case."
Beyond the shift among genders, the median age of homebuyers in America has gone up — in part rising along with the nation's aging population. The median age of all homebuyers jumped to 56 last year, up from 49 in 2023, while the median age of repeat homebuyers grew from 58 in 2023 to 61 in 2024.
First-time homebuyers are getting older, too, with the median age of those buying their first home rising to 38 compared to 35 in 2023.
Just 24% of homes sold in 2024 were purchased by first-time homebuyers, the lowest percentage since the NAR began collecting the data in 1981. Before the Great Recession, the share of first-time homebuyers hovered around 40%.
The NAR report also found that:
- The most important factors for recent homebuyers when choosing a neighborhood were quality of the neighborhood (59%), convenience to friends and family (45%), and overall home affordability (36%).
- 15% of buyers purchased a new home, while 85% of buyers purchased a previously-owned home.
- Detached single-family homes were the most common home type for recent buyers, at 75% of purchasers, followed by townhouses or row houses at 7%.
- The median distance between the home that recent buyers purchased and the home they moved from was 20 miles. That's down from 50 miles in NAR's 2022 report but still more than the distance of 15 miles seen from 2018 to 2021.
Affordability challenges prospective homebuyers
The NAR report comes as fewer millennials believe their generation can afford a home.
According to survey by Clever Real Estate earlier this year, just 21% of millennials believe their generation can afford a home, a substantial decline from 52% who said the same in early 2024. Additionally, 96% of respondents said they have concerns about purchasing a home, with 44% saying they're worried about finding an affordable home — up from 35% in 2024.
The survey notes that the median home price is about $420,000, but 68% of millennials who want to buy a home in 2025 want to spend less than $400,000. That's up from 57% who planned to spend less than $400,000 last year.
The cost of a so-called “starter home” has soared in recent years, as well, according to an analysis by Redfin Corp. In 2012, the typical median sale price for what Redfin defined as a "starter home" was $95,000. That price rose in 2019 to $165,500 — and it rose further, to $250,000, last year.
The research also notes that while the typical household earns 8.9% more than they need to afford the median-priced starter home, in 2019, the typical household earned 57% more than they needed to afford the median-priced starter home. In 2012, the typical household earned 113% more, or more than twice as much as they needed.
For many people, it doesn't make financial sense in the current market to sell their home. Forty-three percent of baby boomers say they will never sell their home, the highest of any generational group, according to a survey of U.S. residents ages 18 to 65 by Redfin. The biggest single reason cited for staying in place is that their home is almost or completely paid off, while others say they like where they live.
A separate Redfin analysis shows that just 25 out of every 1,000 homes changed hands in the first eight moths of 2024 — the lowest mark in decades. With home prices up about 40% since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, and current mortgage rates far higher than they were in 2019, moving has become a far less attractive proposition for homeowners who don't have to relocate.
Here are the fastest-selling ZIP codes in America in the second quarter of 2024. Expand to read more
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