Sorry kids, looks like you'll have to wait until after menopause to buy a home and start that family!
Rising home prices and high mortgage rates have pushed the median age of homebuyers to a record-high 56 years old in 2024, up from 45 in 2021.
In 1981, the median age of homebuyers was 31 years old, see chart below.
That's right: The median age of homebuyers has increased 80% since the Reagan years, coming within roughly a decade of the average age of retirement.
In chart form the trend is even more stark:
Compounding this trend, the share of first-time homebuyers has hit an all-time low, accounting for only 24% of the market. ...
The challenges are undeniable. Since 2020, home prices have surged by 39%, with mortgage rates climbing in tandem. For younger generations, this combination of rising costs and limited access to affordable options raises concerns that their dream of homeownership may remain elusive.
Among the drivers of the crisis include inflation from government money printing and record-low mortgage rates before 2020, which has locked hundreds of thousands of homebuyers into low rates and made them reluctant to sell now.
But the larger problem is government red tape that disincentivizes the construction of new starter homes. It's more profitable for companies to build McMansions for wealthy buyers than to worry about cheaper homes that the market desperately needs.
And it really isn't getting any better: The Federal Housing Finance Agency's most recent data show home prices "rose by 0.4% in December compared to the previous month," with some markets seeing increases as high as 7%.
If this problem doesn't get solved, the American Dream is dead.
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