Average age of first-time homebuyer drops to 35
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. The small improvement in affordability from 2024 to 2025, along with a bit more inventory, brought the median homebuyer age down. Affordability is improving in most major U.S. metros, and we expect it to improve more throughout the year.
Generation 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%.
“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,” said Chen Zhao, Redfin’s head of economics research. “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.”
