Redfin reports that the median age of first‑time homebuyers in the U.S. dipped to 35-years-old in 2025, down from 36 in the previous year, and below the peak of 38 reported in 2018. This marks a slight reversal in the long‑term trend of rising buyer ages.
The report attributes this modest decline to small improvements in housing affordability, including a slight easing of home‑sale price growth and a modest drop in average mortgage interest rates. In 2025 the average rate on a 30‑year fixed mortgage was approximately 6.6%, down from 6.72% in 2024.
Repeat Buyers Also Younger, Affordability Underpins Shift
Alongside the shift in first‑time buyer demographics, Redfin found that the median age of repeat buyers fell to 47 in 2025, down from a quarter‑century high of 52 in the previous year. The company suggested that some repeat buyers postponed purchases in 2024 amid higher mortgage costs, electing to wait for slightly better market conditions before moving.
Redfin economists noted that incremental affordability improvements — including increased housing inventory in some major metros — may have enabled more younger buyers to enter the market. Homeownership rates for younger cohorts also ticked up slightly: Generation Z’s rate rose to 27.1%, while Millennials’ climbed to 55.4%.
“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.”
Financial Strategies Among Younger Buyers
Redfin’s report also noted that younger buyers often use alternative financing strategies: about one in five recent millennial buyers received family help for down payments, roughly the same share sold stock investments to fund purchases, and about 13% tapped retirement savings early.
Breaking Down Varying Data
The report draws on the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement to estimate the ages of buyers who moved in the previous year. Redfin distinguishes between first‑time and repeat buyers based on stated reasons for moving, rather than direct questionnaire responses.
These findings differ substantially from estimates published by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) — which placed the median age of first‑time buyers at 40, and repeat buyers at 62 in 2025 — a gap Redfin says stems largely from methodological differences. Nonetheless, both data sets highlight that Americans are, on average, buying homes later in life than past generations.
