The average age of home buyers in the US is a venerable 59 years old, according to the American newspaper National Association of Real Estate Agents (NAR). That could be good news for potential landlords.
According to NAR data, the average age for first-time homebuyers – who accounted for 21% of all deals in the US – was 40 years old in 2025, the highest in the survey’s history. Repeat buyers have an average age of 62, putting the average age of all buyers just under the big 6-0.
Affordability is disenfranchising younger buyers from homeownership
Affordability is putting younger buyers off getting on the property ladder. High house prices, interest rates, insurance and the need to save for a deposit are major stumbling blocks.
Jessica Lautz, NAR’s deputy chief economist and vice president of research, said in the report:
“The historically low share of first-time buyers underlines the real consequences of a housing market hungry for affordable inventory. The share of first-time buyers in the market has shrunk by 50% since 2007 – just before the Great Recession. The implications for the housing market are staggering. Today’s first-time buyers are building less housing equity and, as a result, are likely to have fewer moves over their lifetime.”
Older buyers trade stocks to buy
That leaves the market wide open for older buyers to trade up equity for new purchases. “The development of the housing market is a tale of two cities,” Lautz explains. “We are seeing buyers with significant home equity making larger down payments and all-cash offers, while first-time buyers are still struggling to enter the market.”
According to ReutersThe decline in broader homebuyers is likely to continue through 2027, according to data from the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas, along with other housing analysts.
“With the labor market looking tighter, housing demand will remain weak, although we may see forced sellers who can no longer keep up payments as unemployment rises,” said James Knightley, chief international economist at ING. “We may see a small correction in home prices over the next six to 12 months. Still, buying a home will remain out of the market’s reach for quite some time for most young Americans.”
It’s a marked difference from 1981, when NAR first started tracking the median of the first time home buyers, there were 29.
What this means for investors
For investors of all stripes: from moms and dads to single-family homes and small families multi-family homes to institutional Wall Street players – meaning the rental market will remain in high demand. Millennials and Gen Zers are likely to continue renting well past the age at which other buyers have traditionally purchased. Even starter homes are out of reach for many.
“The idea of buyers having to move to the next level, I think we’re kind of done with that,” said Suzy Minken, an agent with Compass who works in both New Jersey and northern Virginia. Business insider. “It doesn’t really happen. People I’ve sold houses to over the years, no one moves up to get a bigger house.”
This is consistent with NAR data, which shows that over the average period, homebuyers are expected to stay in their home for 15 years, a marked increase from 2000-2008, when the expectation was about six years. This means there will likely be fewer homes on the market, keeping prices high and causing more people to rent.
Strategies for Investors
So what is a real estate investor to do in such a market? Here are some strategies to consider.
Plan for the long term
Knowing that there are likely to be many tenants for a long time means that landlords can plan their investments for the long term. While it is essential to generate so much cash flow possible, knowing that tax benefits, valuationand the equity payout will continue to reinforce the viability of owning a rental property over the years, is a reason to buy sooner, not later, even if it means the cash flow isn’t necessarily where you want it to be at first due to higher interest rates. They will eventually disappear, allowing owners to refinance.
It’s also a reason, if an investor can afford it and has liquidity to cover costs, to invest in better neighborhoods that generally demonstrate continued appreciation and stable tenant profiles, as residents want to live in good school districts.
There will still be a lot of demand for sustainable, mid-priced rental properties
In a recent report by Goldman SachsAvailable and for-sale rental housing is the lowest it has been in decades, and today the rent-to-income ratio is at its highest level since 1980. This means many renters are cost-burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on housing. Sustainable, mid-priced rental properties in solid, non-luxury, locations that are affordable to tenants are therefore likely to generate high demand.
Don’t compete with Wall Street
Smaller mom-and-pop investors have a distinct advantage over REIT-financed business owners and built-to-rent communities because they can offer cheaper rental rates. So for smaller landlords – who make up for it 90% of single-family homes– staying in areas where rent is affordable, where they can still generate cash flow while buying at a modest price, is an ideal combination. According to data from Realtor.comthat is in the Midwest and South.
Design a product for long-term tenants
Renters across all demographics are choosing to rent longer. “Renting today isn’t just for young adults starting out,” said Nadia Evangelou, senior economist at NAR. Business insider. “It’s actually a much more mixed picture. Over the past decade, we’ve seen older millennials and Gen
The comfort and compatibility of tenants ensure that they continue to rent longer. That means making sure units have AC; washing machines/dryers; practical, durable surfaces; reliable maintenance; easy-to-use digital payment portals; And predictable and affordable rent increases.
Final thoughts
Forget internet gurus telling you to scale up and retire quickly, or lenders offering exotic loan products that can help you make money. Renters aren’t going anywhere, so try becoming a landlord and remove as much risk from your investment strategies as possible so you can sleep at night. That means cutting costs by shopping for insurance, landscaping and other costs that aren’t fixed, including management, if necessary.
Retire rich passive income is everyone’s goal. Still, the reality is that real estate investing is all about playing the long game, and you don’t want to get stressed out while playing.
Recent NAR figures on older homeowners indicate that the landlord sector will remain a rock-solid investment vehicle in the coming years. As investors, you should assess your strategy based on your liquidity, available time, and market research into regions with long-term upside.
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