The path to homeownership continues to get longer, with the median age of first-time home buyers hitting an all-time high of 40 in 2025, according to a report from the National Association of Realtors.

“It’s kind of a shocking number,” said Jessica Lautz, deputy chief economist and vice president of research at N.A.R. “And it’s really been in recent years that we’ve seen this steep climb.”

In 1991, the typical first-time buyer was able to purchase a home by the time they were 28 years old. That number gradually climbed to 33 in 2020, then shot up to 36 in 2022 and 38 in 2024.

There are clear reasons behind the trend. Younger Americans are struggling to save for a down payment as they stretch their paychecks to cover student loans, a rising cost of living and, most critically, high rents, which make saving money harder. And even if they have saved diligently, a persistent lack of affordable housing inventory has left them shut out of the market.

As a result, according to N.A.R., the share of first-time home buyers in the U.S. market has fallen to a meager 21 percent — about half of what it was in 2007, just before the housing crash. “The implications for the housing market are staggering,” according to Ms. Lautz. “Today’s first-time buyers are building less housing wealth and will likely have fewer moves over a lifetime as a result.”

Meanwhile, people who already own homes are accruing huge amounts of equity, thanks to soaring values and low prepandemic mortgage rates. That allows them to make larger down payments and all-cash offers when they want to buy something new. First-time buyers, especially younger ones, can’t compete.

The question is: Will they ever be able to?

The median age of first-time buyers has reached a historic high as they are edged out of the market by repeat buyers, according to a new report from the National Association of Realtors.