The typical first time home buyer in America is now 40 years old, the oldest the National Association of Realtors has recorded. That is the headline finding of NAR’s 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, which the association released on Nov. 4, 2025, and which covers purchases made from July 2024 through June 2025, according to its press release on the report.
First time buyers made up just 21 percent of buyers, a record low, and NAR says that share has fallen 50 percent since 2007. Their median down payment was 10 percent, which NAR says matches the highest level since 1989. Repeat buyers, who were 79 percent of the market, had a median age of 62 and a median down payment of 23 percent. The median age of all buyers was 59.
Where the down payment came from
NAR asked first time buyers where their down payment money came from. Personal savings was the source for 59 percent. Financial assets such as 401(k) accounts, stocks or cryptocurrency were a source for 26 percent, and gifts or loans from family and friends were a source for 22 percent. The shares add up to more than 100 percent.
NAR’s deputy chief economist and vice president of research, Jessica Lautz, said first time buyers face a market “starved for affordable inventory,” and she described the market as “a tale of two cities,” with buyers who hold significant equity making larger down payments and all cash offers. NAR reported that 30 percent of repeat buyers paid all cash.
What else the profile found
The report also tracks household makeup. Just 24 percent of recent buyers had children under 18 living at home, an all time low, and the NAR magazine article on the report says the figure was 58 percent in 1985. Multigenerational purchases were 14 percent of the total, down from 17 percent the year before. Among those buyers, 41 percent cited caring for aging parents, 29 percent cited cost savings and 27 percent cited adult children moving back home.
NAR also asked about agents. It found that 88 percent of buyers used an agent or broker, and 91 percent said they would use their agent again or recommend them. Among sellers, 91 percent used an agent, which equals the record high.
On the selling side, owners stayed a median of 11 years before selling, an all time high. Sellers moved a median of 30 miles. Half of them bought a newer home and 34 percent bought a larger one.
NAR executive vice president and chief advocacy officer Shannon McGahn used the age finding to make a point about equity. She said that delaying homeownership from age 30 to 40 can mean “losing roughly $150,000 in equity on a typical starter home.” That figure is NAR’s own estimate and the release does not show the calculation.
How the survey was done
NAR mailed a 120 question survey in July 2025 to 173,250 recent home buyers. The sample was random and weighted geographically to represent sales. The association received 6,103 responses, an adjusted response rate of 3.5 percent, with a margin of error of plus or minus 1.25 percent at the 95 percent confidence level. Results cover owner occupants only, so investors and vacation home purchases are excluded.
Those details matter when comparing the numbers with a local market. A national median of 10 percent says nothing about what a lender will require for a particular loan, and a median age of 40 describes a middle point, not a rule. Prices and loan terms vary by state and by program.
Using the numbers
A prospective buyer can use the figures as benchmarks. Take a target price, calculate 10 percent and 23 percent of it, and see how far current savings go toward each. Then list which of the three sources NAR identified, savings, financial assets and family gifts, could realistically apply. A lender can say which loan programs allow gifts and what documentation they want, and the lender’s Loan Estimate shows the cash needed to close in writing.
Anyone who needs guidance on state or local assistance, or on how a down payment gift is treated, can ask a lender or a housing counselor and check the state housing agency for programs where they live. The release date of Nov. 4, 2025 and the July 2024 through June 2025 survey period identify the edition these figures come from.
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