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With many homeowners locked in to their current homes with low mortgage rates, supply of existing homes for sale remains low. Prices continue to climb in most parts of the country as mortgage rates hover near 7%. This dynamic is a massive challenge for the approximately 3 million potential first-time buyers in the U.S. “It is such an unusual market because we have an all-time low of first-time home buyers, but an all-time high of all-cash buyers,” said Jessica Lautz, deputy chief economist at the National Association of Realtors®. In 2024′s unusual market, the median age of the first-time home buyer climbed to age 38, an all-time high. In 1981, the average first-time buyer was aged 29, according to NAR.