An increasing share of home buyers and sellers are over the age of 60—older homeowners who have built up substantial equity through years of home price appreciation that is giving them a financial advantage in today’s housing market, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ newly released 2026 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, based on responses of buyers and sellers who completed transactions between July 2025 and June 2026.
The typical age of home sellers was 63 this year, an age that has skewed older over recent years. For comparison, in 2005, the median age of a home seller was 47. Meanwhile, the median age of returning home buyers remains at an all-time high of 62, unchanged from last year.
“Repeat buyers are driving the housing market,” says Jessica Lautz, NAR’s deputy chief economist. “Unlike first-time home buyers, repeat buyers have seen their housing equity grow rapidly over the past decade, enabling them to trade up for larger homes or move into more desirable locations. These are often moves by choice rather than necessity.” Repeat buyers—who now largely consist of retirees—are most likely to report that their moves are being motivated to live closer to family and friends while job-related relocations are declining.
Home Equity Gives Repeat Buyers an Edge
Thirty percent of repeat buyers paid all-cash for their home, avoiding mortgage financing altogether. Years of home price appreciation have helped this segment of buyers build substantial equity that has allowed them to bring larger down payments to their next purchase. The median down payment among repeat buyers over the past year was 19%.
“If a repeat buyer is not making an all-cash purchase, they’re making a comparably larger down payment on their home compared with past years,” NAR’s report notes.
Homeowners have held their properties for a record 12 years before selling, giving them more time to accumulate equity. Many are using that wealth to trade up, moving into larger and newer homes than their previous residences, the report shows.
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Over the past seven years, the average home has appreciated by $146,000, according to NAR research.
Home equity is helping give older homeowners the edge in the housing market but housing affordability continues to hamper many first-time home buyers. The median age of a first-time home buyer remained at an all-time high of 40 this year, according to NAR’s research. First-time home buyers also only comprised 22% of home sales over the past year—about half of what they historically have.
“We have a K-shaped economy, but we have a K-shaped housing market, too,” Lautz says. “When we look at who can buy homes and who is successful in the housing market, it really is the repeat buyer and the baby boomer. It’s someone who’s making a housing trade with a ton of housing equity. And their next home purchase may be an all-cash purchase because they have the ability to do so.”
