INTERACTIVE MAPS: Median Age of Home Buyers (2003-2013)

The median age of First-Time Home Buyers was 31 years old in 2013, but it differs slightly each year. The maps below show the median age of home buyers at the state-level for the past decade (2003-2013). There is an obvious increase in the median age since 2003, specifically for 2006 and beyond. In 2011, the median age of home buyers reached its highest value. In addition, First-Time Home Buyers exhibit greater stability in median age than Repeat Home Buyers.

At the state-level, here are some highlights for the median age of each type of home buyer:

All Home Buyers:

- Pennsylvania (2003) and Michigan (2008) had the lowest median age, 29 years old. On the contrary, Oklahoma (2008), Arizona (2013) and Florida (2013) had the highest median age, which was 55 years and over.

- Maine, Illinois, Minnesota and Virginia show stability in the median age of all home buyers across the years. Idaho, Arizona, Indiana and New Mexico experienced the greatest variations in the median age. For instance, Arizona’s median age for all home buyers in 2005 was 34 years old while last year it increased to 56 years old.

First-Time Home Buyers:

- Oklahoma and North Dakota had the lowest median age for First-Time Home Buyers, 25 years old in 2007 and 2010, respectively. In contrast, Mississippi’s median age was 46 years old in 2012.

-  Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin exhibit stability in median age over the years while Nevada and Texas have a fluctuating trend in the median age for First-Time Home Buyers.

Repeat Home Buyers:

- Arkansas and Utah had the lowest median age, 30 years old in 2004. Conversely, Nevada’s median age reached the highest value in 2013 and 2011 (62 and 63 years old, respectively).

-Hawaii shows stability in the median age of repeat home buyers while Idaho, Utah and Nevada exhibited the greatest variations. For instance, Idaho’s median age was 31 years old in 2004 while last year it was 59 years old.

Next Release:

The 2014 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers will be released in early November, at which time we will look for any fresh trends in the data.

Methodology:

Data used was from the Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers (for the period 2003-2013). The sample includes home purchases for primary residence use only. In order to be considered, a state needed to have sufficient response data for each one of the types of home purchase (first-time and repeat). The states with no available data are colored in gray.