Skip to content

Tuesday, Sep. 30, 2025

Has the median age of a homebuyer in the US increased from 31 to 56 in the past few decades?

Gabriel Vinocur, Econofact
yes

According to Apollo Global Management, the median age of a homebuyer was 56 in 2024, against 31 in 1981. 

In the past few decades, the median price of a house has risen faster than the median household income, though both rose faster than inflation for the overall economy. In 1984, the median income was $22,420 and the median home price $79,950. In 2024, these figures had increased to $83,730 and $418,975, respectively. This means the median family had to work for 3.6 years to buy a home in 1984, against 5 years in 2024.

The NBC News Home Buyer Index rose from 28 in July 2012 to 81.1 in July 2025, with higher values showing increased difficulty in buying a home. 

The Cato Institute estimates that in 2022, 69% of Americans had doubts about whether their children and grandchildren would be able to afford a home.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

About fact briefs

Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions, and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by newsrooms in the Gigafact network.

See all fact briefs

EconoFact is a non-partisan publication designed to bring key facts and incisive analysis to the national debate on economic and social policies. Launched in January 2017, it is written by leading academic economists from across the country who belong to the EconoFact Network. It is published by the Edward R. Murrow Center for a Digital World at The Fletcher School at Tufts University.

Learn More

Latest Fact Briefs

Be a Friend of facts

Help us fund more great fact briefs like this one.