Search for the average age of a first-time home buyer and you will run into two very different answers. One widely cited figure puts it at 40. Another, from a much larger dataset, puts it closer to 33. Both come from credible sources, and the gap between them has become its own debate among housing analysts. This guide lays out what each source actually reports, why the numbers diverge, and what the data does and does not agree on, all with the figures attributed to their sources.
Quick facts: reported first-time buyer age
| Source | Reported median first-time buyer age | Type of data |
|---|---|---|
| NAR, 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers | 40 (record high) | Mail survey of recent buyers |
| NY Fed Consumer Credit Panel (via MBA/AEI analysis) | About 33 in 2024 | Credit records (~14 million) |
| NAR, mid-1980s (for historical context) | About 29 in 1985 | Historical survey |
| First-time buyer share of all buyers, 2025 (NAR) | 21% (record low) | Mail survey |
Figures are as reported by the cited sources and reflect their most recent releases as of 2026. Definitions of “first-time buyer” and survey methods vary by source, which is central to the discrepancy explained below.
What is the average age of a first-time home buyer?
There is no single official number, because it depends on which dataset you use. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports a median first-time buyer age of 40 as of its 2025 report, an all-time high. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s credit-record data, cited by other housing groups, puts the median closer to 33 and roughly flat for two decades. The rest of this article explains both figures rather than picking one, because the difference is a methodology story, not a simple case of one source being right.
The NAR figure: 40 and at a record high
NAR’s 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, released in November 2025, reported that the typical first-time buyer had reached a median age of 40, the oldest in the survey’s history. The same report found that first-time buyers made up just 21% of all home buyers, a record low, while repeat buyers accounted for 79% and a notable share paid entirely in cash.
For historical context, NAR’s own series shows this figure was around 29 in the mid-1980s and sat in the low-to-mid 30s for much of the 2000s and 2010s before its recent climb, rising from 38 in the prior year to 40. NAR framed the shift as evidence of an affordability squeeze driven by limited housing supply, noting that buyers with existing home equity are increasingly outcompeting first-timers with larger down payments and cash offers.
This is the number that generated most of the headlines, which is why “40” is the figure many people encounter first.
The counterpoint: about 33, and barely moving
Other analysts pushed back hard on the 40 figure. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) argued that NAR’s number rests on a relatively small mail survey and does not match larger datasets. Drawing on the New York Fed’s Consumer Credit Panel, which is built from a large sample of consumer credit records, MBA economists reported median first-time buyer ages of roughly 32 in 2016, 33 in 2019, and 33 in 2024, concluding that today’s typical first-time buyer is not meaningfully older than a decade ago.
The American Enterprise Institute made a similar case, calling NAR’s figure well above what the credit data supports and arguing that the affordability problem is rooted in home prices rather than a jump in buyer age. Texas A&M’s Texas Real Estate Research Center reached the same conclusion, noting that the New York Fed panel, drawn from more than 14 million credit records, shows a median first-time buyer age of around 33 in 2025, essentially unchanged since 2001.
So a second cluster of sources lands near 33, and describes the age as stable rather than surging.
Why the two numbers disagree
The gap comes down to how each source collects and defines its data.
Survey versus credit records
NAR’s figure comes from a mail survey of recent buyers, many of whom worked with a real estate agent. A survey of that kind can undercount buyers who are younger, purchased without an agent, or bought with cash, which can pull the reported median upward. The New York Fed’s figure, by contrast, is drawn from a very large pool of credit records, a fundamentally different and much larger sample that captures buyers through their mortgage activity.
Sample size and representativeness
Critics of the 40 figure focus on the size and representativeness of NAR’s survey sample relative to the credit-record datasets. A smaller sample is more sensitive to who does and does not respond, which is the core of the methodological objection.
Definitions
“First-time buyer” is not defined identically across every dataset, and small differences in who counts, for example how repeat buyers returning after years of renting are treated, can move a median. When two sources measure slightly different populations, they can both be internally correct and still disagree.
None of this makes either figure fabricated. It means they are answering slightly different questions with different tools.
What the data does agree on
Beneath the dispute over the exact age, the sources broadly agree on the bigger picture:
- First-time buyers are a shrinking share of the market. NAR’s record-low 21% share is not seriously contested; affordability pressure on new entrants is common ground.
- Home prices, not a single age number, are the central affordability story. Even the analysts who reject the 40 figure frame prices and down-payment hurdles as the real barrier.
- Young-adult homeownership has held up more than the 40 figure alone would suggest. Census-based homeownership rates for adults under 35 have stayed relatively steady over recent decades, which is part of why some analysts doubt a jump to 40.
First-time buyers by age group
Beyond the single median, the age distribution is informative. Data compiled by Statista for 2023 indicated that roughly three-quarters of buyers in their late twenties to early thirties were purchasing for the first time, compared with a substantially smaller share of buyers in their mid-thirties to early forties. In other words, first-time buying is still concentrated among younger adults, even as the headline median has been reported at older ages, another reason the datasets can tell different stories.
Frequently asked questions
What is the average age of a first-time home buyer in 2025? It depends on the source. NAR reports a median of 40, an all-time high, while the New York Fed’s credit-record data points to roughly 33. Both are current figures from credible sources measured in different ways.
Is the first-time buyer really 40, or is that misleading? NAR’s 40 comes from a survey of recent buyers; the Mortgage Bankers Association and others argue that larger credit-record datasets put the figure near 33 and call 40 an overstatement. The honest answer is that the number varies with methodology.
Has the first-time buyer age gone up over time? By NAR’s series, yes, from around 29 in the mid-1980s to 40 in 2025. By the New York Fed’s credit data, it has stayed near 33 for about two decades. The two sources genuinely disagree on the trend.
What share of buyers are first-timers? NAR reported first-time buyers at 21% of all buyers in 2025, a record low, a figure that is not seriously disputed.
The bottom line
If you need one number, NAR’s median of 40 is the most-cited, but it is contested; the credit-record data suggesting roughly 33 is the strongest counterweight. The safest takeaway is that first-time buyers skew toward their thirties, the exact median depends on how it is measured, and the share of first-timers has fallen to a record low regardless of which age figure you trust. For more on what goes into a first purchase, see our first-time home buyer guide, our breakdown of down payment requirements, and how buyers weigh renting versus buying.
This article reports figures as published by the cited sources, including the National Association of Realtors, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the Mortgage Bankers Association, and the Texas Real Estate Research Center. It is for general informational purposes only and is not financial advice. Housing data is revised over time; check the original sources for the latest releases.
