First-Time Buyers Are 40, Repeat Buyers 62: NAR's 2026 Profile

The typical first-time home buyer in the United States is 40 years old. The typical repeat buyer is 62. Both figures come from the National Association of Realtors' 2026 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, released Nov. 5, 2026, and both are at or near the highest levels in a survey that goes back to 1981. In that first year, the median repeat buyer was 36.

The report covers people who bought a primary residence between July 2025 and June 2026. Read as a whole, it describes a market where buying a home has become something people do later in life, with more cash, closer to family, and less often for a job.

The Headline Numbers

• First-time buyers: 22% of all buyers, up from a record low of 21% a year earlier. Before 2008, the share was about 40%.
• Median age of first-time buyers: 40, matching last year's record. In 2010 it was about 30.
• Median age of repeat buyers: 62.
• Median age of all buyers: 58, down from a record 59.
• Repeat buyers paying all cash: 30%.
• First-time buyers paying all cash: 10%, a record.
• Median time sellers owned their home: 12 years, the longest the survey has recorded.

The figures are published in NAR's summary of the top takeaways from the 2026 profile; additional detail was reported by HousingWire.

Why First-Time Buyers Keep Getting Older

The age of 40 hides two different groups. First-time buyers who took out a mortgage had a median age of 38 and a median household income of $100,000. The record 10% who paid cash had a median age of 54, and NAR found they were more likely to have used an inheritance, an inherited property or other financial assets. A meaningful share of "first-time" buyers, in other words, are middle-aged people buying with family money.

For everyone else, the obstacles are the familiar ones. Homeownership among adults under 35 has fallen for four straight years to 37%, while it stays above 70% for people over 50. One in five first-time buyers (21%) lived with parents or relatives before buying, up from 12% in 1993. Among buyers who struggled to save, 17% named childcare costs as the reason, up from 14% a year earlier.

Household makeup has shifted with it. Only 47% of first-time buyers were married couples. Single women made up 25%, single men 12% and unmarried couples 11%. Another 5% bought with roommates, the highest share in 45 years.

The Repeat Buyer Is Now Retirement Age

A median of 62 means half of all repeat buyers are older than that. NAR notes that many are likely retired, and their most common reason for moving is no longer a job. It is being closer to friends and family.

The long view makes the point. In 2000, a quarter of buyers moved for a job; today 5% do. Moves to be near friends and family rose from 6% to 14% over the same period. When buyers choose a neighborhood, 46% now cite proximity to friends and family, up from a low of 35% in 2015, while convenience to work has dropped to 31% from 52% in 2014.

These buyers also bring money. Repeat buyers had a median household income of $127,000, and 30% paid entirely in cash, typically using the proceeds from a home they had owned for years. A cash buyer does not care what the mortgage rate is, which helps explain why older buyers make up so much of the market while rates sit above 7%.

Sellers Are Staying 12 Years

The typical seller had owned the home for 12 years, an all-time high. Part of that is the lock-in effect: owners with a mortgage rate far below today's have a strong reason not to move, a pattern described in the report on how low-rate loans keep homes off the market. Part of it is age. Older owners move less often, and when they do, it is usually a planned move tied to retirement, health or family rather than a quick trade-up.

Long tenure means large equity. An owner who bought in 2014 has been through a decade of price gains, and that equity is what funds the cash purchases and large down payments showing up on the buying side.

More Households Under One Roof

Fourteen percent of buyers purchased a multigenerational home. Their reasons, according to the survey: caring for aging parents (30%), saving money (23%), adult children who never left (19%) and adult children moving back (18%).

For anyone shopping with relatives in mind, the practical features are a bedroom and full bath on the main floor, a second living area, or a detached casita with its own entrance.

Nearly Everyone Uses an Agent

Ninety percent of buyers and 92% of sellers worked with a real estate agent or broker, the highest levels the survey has recorded in four decades. For-sale-by-owner sales fell to 5%, a record low, and 62% of those sellers already knew their buyer. What buyers most wanted from an agent was help finding the right home (51%), followed by negotiating terms (15%) and price (12%).

What the Profile Means for Each Group

First-time buyers

The competition is not only other first-time buyers. It includes older buyers with cash. That makes preparation matter more: a full pre-approval, a clear budget at today's rates, and a look at down payment assistance and low-down-payment loans, which exist precisely for buyers without family money. A buyer of 40 also has a shorter runway to retirement than a buyer of 30, so the loan term deserves thought. A 30-year loan taken at 40 runs to age 70 unless extra principal is paid along the way.

Buyers in their 50s and 60s

This group is now the center of the market, not the edge of it. The decisions that matter most are whether to pay cash or keep a small mortgage and hold more savings, how the home will work at 75 or 80, and how close it is to the people and medical care the household relies on. The trade-offs of holding property free and clear are covered in the piece on the real value of a paid-off home in retirement.

Sellers

The likeliest buyer for many homes is older, has equity and is moving by choice. Those buyers tend to be patient and particular. Single-level living, low maintenance, an updated primary bath and a clean inspection report carry more weight with them than a home office or a short commute.

Where This Shows Up Locally

The national profile describes places like Mesquite, Nevada, unusually well. The city's median age was 62.5 in the 2020 Census, and much of its housing was built for buyers moving by choice later in life, including age-restricted neighborhoods such as Sun City Mesquite. Buyers who want a separate space for parents or adult children can browse homes with a casita, and those planning to age in place can start with single-story homes. More buyer and seller research is published at Homes For Sale In Mesquite Nevada.