Older Buyers Dominate Home Purchases as First-Time Buyers Stay Above Traditional Age Levels

With affordability still a major barrier, more buyers are turning to inheritance and home equity while an uneven “silver tsunami” begins to emerge.

Because affordability remains one of the biggest obstacles for first-time buyers, the homebuying market continues to be led by retirees and other older repeat purchasers.

The National Association of Realtors’ 2026 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers says the median homebuyer is now 58, with “increased buying activity among those over 60.” Repeat buyers, whose median age is 62, made up 78% of all home purchases.

First-time buyers represented just 22% of market activity, while the median age of a first-time buyer stayed at 40, roughly unchanged from the prior year.

Jessica Lautz, NAR deputy chief economist and vice president of research, said in a release that first-time buyer market share is about “half the historical norm of 40% seen before 2008” because “affordability remains (their) biggest hurdle.”

“Those saving on their own continue to face high rent, student debt, and a shortage of homes they can afford,” she said.

The generational shift and the “silver tsunami”

In an interview with RISMedia, Lautz said one of the report’s biggest findings is the “growing share of all cash first-time homebuyers,” who she described as “very different from your traditional first-time homebuyer.”

“Their median age is in their 50s, and compared to someone who is financing, whose median age is in their late 30s (38, according to the report),” she said. “We’re seeing that there’s a growing share of inheritance that is playing a role for these first-time homebuyers. The idea of the silver tsunami, the generational transfer of wealth, it’s starting to happen, and we’re picking it up in the data.”

The term “silver tsunami” refers to a possible wave of homes entering the market as older Americans sell, a scenario housing economists have debated for years and one that has drawn renewed attention as home sales slow.

Bright MLS chief economist Lisa Sturtevant explored the idea in a separate recent report on how much weight observers should place on the trend.

She defined the “silver tsunami” as mortgage-free homeowners age 70 and older listing their properties. At present, about one in five homeowners is 70 or older, while about 45% are 60 years old, she reported.

Still, Sturtevant found the effect would be uneven across the country, since most homeowners age 70 and older are concentrated in relatively more affordable Midwest metro areas.

“Will demographics solve the homeownership affordability challenge? The answer is no, but the aging of the population will dramatically shift the housing market landscape in specific parts of the country,” Sturtevant said.

A recent Realtor.com report supported that view, noting that while the raw numbers point to a growing wave — with housing relinquishments by older Americans projected to rise 33.7% over the next decade — a closer look suggests the effect may amount to only a trickle in some markets.

“Supply and demand are geographically mismatched,” the report said. “(O)ur research shows that the impact also varies sharply by home type: Family and large homes see relatively larger relief, while starter homes see comparatively little.”

Lautz said the market has not yet reached a full tsunami, but wealth is still being transferred across generations, reshaping who can buy a first home and when.

“We’re seeing that there’s a growing share of inheritance that is playing a role for these first-time homebuyers,” she said. “Because people are living longer, the generation receiving that wealth is no longer young adults. Many are reaching middle age before they can buy their first home.”

Other changes in buying patterns

Multigenerational living has also increased in recent years, with 14% of buyers purchasing a multigenerational home. The report said the top reasons were caring for aging parents (30%), saving money (23%), adult children never leaving home (19%), and adult children moving back home (18%).

“I think we’re at a new normal where people need to pull finances in a different sort of way to be able to afford property,” Lautz said.

She also pointed to childcare costs as a growing factor behind multigenerational living.

“For families who do have kids under the age of 18, it’s increasingly playing a role in why people are choosing multigenerational settings because it’s an extra set of adult hands,” she said.

Lautz added that this arrangement can also help first-time buyers get onto the property ladder because “a way to actually encourage homeownership in the long term is to allow them to skip paying market value rent.”

The report cited Census data showing that the share of young adults ages 25 to 34 living at home has risen from 9% in 1980 to 16.4% now. As a result, more first-time buyers who have lived this way are able to purchase homes, rising from 12% in 1993 to 21% now.

Homeowners are also staying in their homes longer than historical norms. The median length of residence before selling was 12 years, the highest level on record.

That is partly tied to the “lock-in” effect, in which homeowners with lower mortgage rates delay selling because moving would raise their monthly costs.

“The golden handcuffs, the low interest rate mortgages, make it appealing to stay put for a longer period of time,” Lautz said. “We’re seeing home sellers who are successfully making those housing trades, holding on to homes for a longer period of time. That’s allowing them for their next purchase to put down a very large down payment or even an all cash purchase.”

Although retirees are shaping the market, Lautz said the reasons for moving have changed as well.

The report found that moves driven by jobs or major life events dropped from 25% of buyers in 2000 to 5% now, while moves to be closer to family and friends climbed from 6% to 14% over the same period. The rise reflects the greater activity of retirees in the market.

“Seeing these optional moves lead the housing market means that I think there’s a lot of people who are settling in and staying in place for longer periods of time too,” Lautz said. “I think all of this is related, but it also means there’s that lack of inventory for first-time homebuyers that’s freeing up because of fewer housing trades as well.”

Agents remain central

Despite recent criticism of real estate agents and the challenges they face, NAR’s report offered one upbeat takeaway: agents remain essential guides for buyers and sellers.

The report said 90% of all homebuyers used an agent or broker to help with their purchase, the highest share on record. Meanwhile, 92% of sellers used an agent or broker, also an all-time high. Just 5% of sales were for-sale-by-owner, matching a record low.

“We know that this is a very unique housing market—everything is very local when it comes to the housing market today, and each unique transaction is going to have its own complications as well,” Lautz said. “Having someone by your side to help you purchase that home and then sell that property, tell you how to fix up that home for sale, walk you through your unique transaction, I think is becoming increasingly important.”