Redfin Reports Typical First-Time Homebuyer Dips to 35 Years Old
Redfin, Seattle, reported the median age of first-time buyers dipped slightly between 2024 and 2025, from 36 to 35.
For repeat buyers, the median age is 47, down from a peak of 52.
Redfin, Seattle, reported the typical first-time homebuyer was 35 years old in 2025, down from 36 the year before and down from a peak of 38 in 2018.
Meanwhile, the typical repeat buyer was 47 years old, down from a historic peak of 52 the year before.
The small improvement in affordability from 2024 to 2025, along with a bit more inventory, brought the median homebuying age down, Redfin’s report said. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.6% in 2025, down from 6.72% in 2024, and while home-sale prices continued rising last year, price growth lost steam.
Affordability is improving in most major U.S. metros, and Redfin noted it expects affordability to improve more throughout the year.
The report added that Gen Z’s homeownership rate ticked up to 27.1%, from 26.1% the year before, and millennials’ homeownership rate also improved a bit, to 55.4% from 54.9%.
It’s typically more difficult for young people to afford homes because they’re more likely to be first-time homebuyers, relying on their savings and salary to purchase homes without the benefit of equity from a prior sale. So a slight affordability improvement gives a few more young homebuyers a chance to break into the housing market, which explains why the median age fell slightly from 2024 to 2025, the report explained. Going back further, it has generally gotten more difficult for young people to afford a home over the last few decades.
“Housing costs have steadily risen over the last few decades, especially in the last five years with the pandemic homebuying frenzy pushing up prices and the subsequent rise in mortgage rates,” Redfin’s Head of Economics Research Chen Zhao said. “Wages have increased, too, but not as quickly, making it more difficult to afford a home. But the typical age of first-time homebuyers hasn’t changed much in that span, suggesting that more millennials and Gen Zers are getting help from family to buy a home, or using other sources of income like money that would have gone to their retirement savings.”
One in five (19.6%) millennials who recently bought a home received a cash gift from family to help with their down payment, according to a November 2025 Redfin survey, as did 14.8% of Gen Zers. Roughly one in five recent buyers of both generations sold stock investments for their down payment, and 13% pulled money out of retirement funds early.
The median age of repeat homebuyers dropped to 47 in 2025 from a quarter-century peak of 52 the year before. Many of last year’s repeat buyers represented pent-up demand from 2024: Some were waiting for 2024’s sky-high mortgage rates to fall even a little bit before moving, and some simply grew accustomed to 6%-plus rates, making 2025 the year they made a move.
Why Redfin’s Estimate Differs From NAR’s
Last year the National Association of Realtors reported the median age of a first-time homebuyer as 40 and the median age of a repeat buyer as 62. Redfin’s estimates skew younger than those of NAR largely due to methodology and data sources. Redfin’s analysis is based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (March Supplement), using data from 1976 through 2025. NAR’s estimates come from a survey of recent homebuyers conducted via mail and text messages, which reflects the experiences of respondents who purchased a home during a specific period and chose to participate in the survey.
But both Redfin and NAR’s findings point to the same long-term trend: Americans are buying homes later in life than they did a decade or two decades ago, even if the exact median age varies depending on how it’s measured.
