The youngest home buyer in the US is not so young anymore as the banned market will start hunting first-time homes for people activities of nearly 40 people.
“Young people in their 20s don’t buy a house,” said Ricky Von, a real estate agent in Southampton, Pennsylvania, who recently noticed that their clients are getting older.
Voong struggles to find property in Hahmie Lee, 37 Philadelphia suburbs. her husband, David Matozzo, 31; daughter, Luna, 7 years old;
“I’m definitely going to take my time and just wait for now,” said Lee, who has been searching for a new home for the past two years.
Voong showed him a detached house in Hatfield, Pennsylvania last month. It was sold for $209,000 in 2019. It is listed for nearly $500,000 today. Lee works for insurance and Matozzo is a police officer.
“There’s a lot of competition,” Lee said, adding that they’ve surpassed “many times.” Voong said homes that go to the market in the area typically land three or four offers within just a few days.
This year’s opening game showed early signs of a much-anticipated thawing, but the country’s housing market remains completely out of reach for many buyers.
As Lee and Matozzo discovered, sudden prices and mortgage rates have been a long-standing reality for home hunters. Industry experts fear that the Trump administration’s escalating trade war is threatening to derail recent advances in affordable prices. Census data shows you will see more and more six-figure income to become a homeowner.
This crisis has led many Americans like Lee to wait longer for them to jump into the market.
The median age of first-time home buyers was 38 years old last year, up from 35 in 2023, almost 10 years old than in the 1980s. Although Gen Z and Millennials’ homeownership rates stagnated in 2024, Redfin found, the older generation continued to make “pretty standard” profits despite the high costs.
According to Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin, the jump in average age for first-time buyers is shocking.
“We usually think of our first-time home buyer as someone in their early 30s, not in their late 30s,” she said.
One potentially surprising explanation for the shift is that many young buyers who have already bought it during the pandemic, where mortgage rates are much lower, have already bought it. And first-time buyers who can handle higher fees “will buy them in 2023, even if they were a little late,” she said.
Still, there is no doubt that market conditions have many young adults locked up in their expanded property as often passive tenants. Lee and Matozzo are ready to leave their 2 bedroom townhomes they currently rent. They want to have a backyard for chocolate labs, tanks and more space for other kids.
It’s disappointing to be waiting for affordable property that suits their needs.
“They said, ‘The market will change for a few months,'” Matozzo recalled, “But that hasn’t changed for the better.” Luna’s school district homes are still in high demand, and the bidding war is raising prices.
Meanwhile, recent economic uncertainty has surprised home buyers, from tariff policies and federal budget cuts to stock market volatility. A Redfin survey released this week revealed that one in four Americans had cancelled plans to make large purchases for the new trade policy.
The Federal Reserve has shown its determination to refrain from further interest rate cuts until the inflation risks caused by the trade war become more clear, ensuring that borrowing costs are set up to be higher. This month, the prices for popular 30-year fixed mortgages have skyrocketed above 7%, with many buyers recoiling despite a significant jump in stock these days.
Last month, the median monthly payments for US homeowners reached an all-time high of $2,800, according to Redfin. About 70% of American households cannot afford a $400,000 home, the National Association of Home Builders discovered earlier this year. However, the median selling price of a home sold in the fourth quarter of last year was $420,000, census data shows.
Buying your first home later in life could have long-term financial consequences, Fairweather said the 38-year-old buyer would still pay off his 30-year mortgage until retirement. “That could mean people aren’t wealthy as retirees,” she said. This is because home equity is an important source of retirement savings for many households.
For those who are unable to buy a home at this time, Fairweather recommends prioritizing donations to tax retirement savings accounts such as the IRA or 401(k).
“Treat that by how you handle rent,” she said. Ideally, you would pay monthly, such as 10% of your rent. The goal is to “create a system so that homeowners can save it automatically.”
She also said buyers in strong financial position should not try to spend time on the market. “If you can afford it, there’s no reason to wait,” she said. If rates improve, refinance is always possible.
Based on current trends, Fairweather warned that “it will be as difficult to buy next year as it is this year.”