Median Age of Home Buyers: 2001 – 2010

The typical age of home buyers has remained at 39 years of age since 2007.

However, when looking closer there are differences among first-time home buyers and repeat home buyers.

The age of first-time home buyers fluctuates with household affordability. From 2003 to 2006, during the housing boom, younger buyers had a more difficult time entering the market and the typical age rose to 32. In 2007, the typical age of first-time home buyers fell to 31 and from 2008 to 2010 the typical age has remained at 30.



Among repeat buyers the story is different. When many markets became buyer’s markets, current home owners stayed in their homes longer, putting off selling and moving to a different home. This affected not only tenure in home, but the typical age of repeat buyers. Repeat buyers increased in age steadily on an annual basis from 41 in 2001 to 49 in 2010.