With rising interest rates and high home prices, many prospective homeowners are struggling to buy their first home, according to a CNBC report. The average age of first-time homebuyers hit a new high of 36 years old in 2022, up from 33 years old in 2021, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
Despite these hurdles, the desire for homeownership remains strong among young Americans. To better understand this dynamic, we gathered data on first-time homebuyers, homeownership statistics by age and race, and projections on where these trends are headed.
Top First-Time Homebuyer Facts and Statistics
In the current economic and real estate environment, many Americans are finding it difficult to save enough for a down payment. Data shows that there is still a demand from first-time buyers, though. Here are some statistics that highlight recent first-time homebuyer trends:
- Just 26% of homebuyers were first-time buyers in 2022, an all-time low.¹
- Unmarried couples made up 18% of first-time buyers, an all-time high.¹
- The average age of a first-time buyer is 36 years old in 2022, an all-time high.¹
- Saving for a down payment is a major barrier for potential first-time homebuyers attempting to purchase their first home, with 27% of younger millennials citing it as the most challenging step in purchasing a home in 2022.²
- The top reported reason for buying a home was the desire to be a homeowner, with 62% of first-time buyers having this as their top priority in 2022.²
- Too much debt is the most common reason mortgage lenders reject homebuyers’ loan applications, with 32% of rejections coming from an insufficient debt-to-income ratio. This was the greatest issue for homebuyers between the ages of 23 and 31, at 46% of rejections, in 2022.²
- The average first-time homebuyer median credit score was 768 as of the second quarter of 2022.³
- The average monthly income of first-time buyers was $7,453 as of 2020.⁵
- The average first-time homebuyer’s down payment was 6% of the home’s purchase price in 2022.¹
- The number of houses on the market and the share of purchases made by first-time buyers are expected to rise back to pre-pandemic norms by 2024, based on early 2022 data collection. Housing inventory should increase back to a monthly average of 1.5 million units or higher.⁶
- For 61% of 2022 homebuyers, their down payment came from their savings.²
- First-time buyers made up 34% of 2022 home purchases.²
Pro Tip
- First-time buyers navigating credit concerns should know that minor blemishes aren’t necessarily deal-breakers. As Mark Reade, a mortgage industry manager at First Caliber Mortgage, has explained, a small late payment or two is common—lenders rank credit issues on a scale of seriousness, with late payments on revolving accounts like credit cards being the least concerning, while missed installment-loan payments carry more weight. Data from Experian shows that nearly half of all credit reports contain at least one delinquency, so a less-than-perfect record doesn’t have to derail your application.
Homeowner Statistics by Age
Home buying habits vary by generation.
- First-time millennial buyers were more likely to take risks in 2022, with 90% purchasing a home sight unseen, 82% purchasing a fixer-upper, and 80% offering over the asking price.⁴
- Younger millennials (born 1990–1999) made up only 18% of homebuyers in 2022, while older millennials (born 1980–1989) made up 25% of buyers (the largest group).²
- Baby Boomers made up more than 40% of homes owned in the United States in 2022.²
- Millennials made up 43% of homebuyers in 2022, the most of any generation.²
Pro Tip
- Bradley Huber, a high-school social studies teacher and millennial homeowner profiled by This Old House Magazine, exemplifies the fixer-upper trend among younger buyers. As his mother, Leslie, told the magazine: “When he bought his house, we kinda chuckled. He’d never been interested in power tools before.” Brad taught himself through research and persistence—a pattern increasingly common among first-time millennial buyers tackling renovation projects on their own.
Homeowner Statistics by Race
According to NAR, the largest homeownership rate gains in the last decade have been made by Asian Americans and Hispanics. Below is a snapshot of how demographics overlap with homeownership.
- Hispanic and Asian Americans have seen the biggest homeownership rate gains in the past decade, now sitting at 51% and 63%, respectively.⁷
- Homeownership rates for Black Americans rose by 0.4 percentage points from 2011 to 2022, but still remains the lowest of any race/ethnicity at below 45%.⁷
- The majority of U.S. homeowners are White as of 2022 (72.7%).⁷
- The majority of homebuyers in 2022 were White (88%), followed by Hispanic/Latino (8%), Black/African American (3%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2%) and Other (3%).⁷
Homeowner Insights
- According to our 2025 survey, first-time buyer behavior also varies by region. Homeowners in the South are most likely to receive a home warranty as part of their purchase deal, while buyers in the West are more price-conscious and more likely to opt for self-funded repairs. In the Northeast, buyers tend to purchase warranty coverage after experiencing costly repairs—suggesting that younger buyers in that region may face steeper early maintenance costs.
Characteristics of Homeownership
Buyer profiles in 2022 show that married couples are still far more likely to purchase a home than unmarried couples. However, the percentage of married couple homebuyers has decreased by 12 percentage points since NAR data collection started in 1981, from 73% to 61% in 2022.
Pro Tip
- Today’s generational homeownership breakdown looks very different from pre-war America. As This Old House Magazine noted, before World War II, America’s homeowners were mostly wealthy or rural — 56 percent of households rented in 1940, and suburbs were few and moneyed. The postwar boom in serial homeownership reshaped the market, but shifting demographics and affordability challenges are now pushing younger generations toward a different approach to buying.
In that same time frame, single female homebuyers have increased by 6 percentage points, and single male homebuyers have decreased by 1 percentage point.
| U.S. Homebuyers in 2022 | Percent |
|---|---|
|
Married couples |
60% |
|
Single females |
19% |
|
Single males |
9% |
|
Unmarried couples |
9% |
|
Other |
3% |
Source: NAR
- In 2022, single women outnumbered single men as homebuyers, 19% to 9%.²
- Of all homebuyers in 2022, 31% had children under the age of 18 living at home.²
- The majority (72%) of homebuyers in 2022 had earned a bachelor’s degree or higher.²
- Multigenerational homes made up 14% of homes purchased in 2022.¹
Pro Tip
- The rise of single female homebuyers is a long-running trend that This Old House has tracked for years. As far back as 2006, TOH Magazine reported that “unmarried women are buying houses in record numbers,” purchasing homes at more than twice the rate of single men. Realtor Terre Coffman explained the shift simply: “Women marry later and make more money than they used to.” A Sears study cited in the same report found that about 85% of women have been, are, or expect to be solely responsible for a house within their lifetime.
Our Conclusion
These first-time homebuyer statistics display the difficulty of the housing market within the last few years. The average age of the first-time homebuyer hit an all-time high of 36 in 2022. Younger prospective homeowners are struggling to secure financing to buy a home. Mortgage lenders are citing too much debt as the top reason for rejecting a loan, and two-thirds of millennials report that they have nothing saved for a down payment.
Real estate experts predict mortgage rates and home prices will “return to normalcy” in 2023. But the only certain thing is that the housing market is always changing.
“The housing market is complex and constantly evolving, and it’s important for buyers and sellers alike to stay informed about market trends and conditions,” said Phil Greely, a licensed real estate agent in Seattle, Washington.
Pro Tip
- First-time buyers should also consider the costs that come after closing. According to our 2026 Home Warranty Survey, homeowners who have faced costly repairs in the past are significantly more likely to purchase a home warranty later—a sign that many new buyers underestimate maintenance expenses. The survey also found that coverage is the number-one factor homeowners weigh when selecting a warranty plan, and that many first-time buyers in the South received warranties as part of their home purchase deal.
With such uncertainty, it’ll be a waiting game to see how first-time homebuyer trends will look a year from now. If you recently closed on a home and are planning your move, check out our guide to the best affordable moving companies and our tips on how to save during the moving process.
Sources
- Copyright ©2022 “Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers.” NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. All rights reserved. www.nar.realtor/research-and-statistics/research-reports/highlights-from-the-profile-of-home-buyers-and-sellers
- Copyright ©2022 “Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends Report.” NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. All rights reserved. https://cdn.nar.realtor//sites/default/files/documents/2022-home-buyers-and-sellers-generational-trends-03-23-2022.pdf
- “Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit.” Federal Reserve Bank of New York. November 2022. https://www.newyorkfed.org/medialibrary/interactives/householdcredit/data/pdf/HHDC_2022Q3
- “Millennial Home Buyer Report: 2022 Edition.” Real Estate Witch Powered by Clever. January 17, 2022. https://www.realestatewitch.com/2022-millennial-home-buyer-report/
- “Mortgage Costs as a Share of Housing Costs – Placing the Cost of Credit in Broader Context.” Fannie Mae. March 9, 2022. https://www.fanniemae.com/media/43026/display
- “Experts Predict at Least Two More Years Before Housing Inventory Climbs to Pre-Pandemic Levels.” Zillow. March 24, 2022. https://www.zillow.com/research/zhpe-q1-2022-inventory-returns-30878/
- Copyright ©2023 “A Snapshot of Race and Home Buying in America.” NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. All rights reserved. https://cdn.nar.realtor/sites/default/files/documents/2023-snapshot-of-race-and-home-buying-in-the-us-03-02-2023.pdf