"The NAR data series is calculated by an annual survey. For this year's survey, NAR mailed out a 120-question survey to 173,250 recent homebuyers. The recent homebuyers had to have purchased a primary residence home between July 2024 and June 2025. In total, 6,103 responses were received this year."
"According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the average first-time homebuyer in 2024 was 36.3 years old-just a little younger than NAR's estimate of the median first-time homebuyer age of 38 in 2024."
"Initially, one might suspect the difference simply stems from the fact that the New York Fed reports an "average" while NAR reports a "median." However, when you peel back the onion, you'll see there's a large historical divergence between the two organizations' figures."
The median age of first-time U.S. homebuyers rose to 40 in 2025, up from 38 in 2024 and far above 1992's median of 28. Other sources, including the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, report lower ages, with the New York Fed estimating an average first-time buyer age of 36.3 in 2024. The NAR series is based on an annual mailed 120-question survey with 6,103 responses from buyers who purchased between July 2024 and June 2025. The New York Fed uses credit report data representing roughly 5% of nationally representative individuals since 1999. Methodological and sample differences drive the divergence in reported ages.
Read at Fast Company
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