The 2025 edition of the NAR Profile of Home Buyers & Sellers reveals a housing market increasingly defined by stark contrasts. On one hand, the proportion of first‐time buyers has plunged to just 21 %, the lowest share since tracking began in 1981. On the other hand, the share of all-cash purchasers has reached a record high of about 26 % over the past year. This discrepancy highlights not just affordability constraints, but also shifting demographics, wealth distribution, and the structural dynamics of homeownership in the U.S.

For prospective buyers, sellers, real-estate professionals, and policy-makers alike, the message is clear. The housing market isn’t simply hot or cold. Instead, it is bifurcated. Those with equity, access to cash, or a head‐start in property ownership are operating in one lane, while those without those things are sitting on the sidelines. This report shines a light on who is participating in homeownership today and who is being left behind.

What the Numbers Reveal: Buyer Side Extremes

The report shows that first‐time buyers are at a historic low, accounting for only 21 % of home purchases. Meanwhile, the median age of a first‐time buyer has risen to 40 years old, another record. Affordability, high debt burdens, and a lack of starter inventory combine to push younger would‐be owners out.

Conversely, buyers who are repeat purchasers or have access to home equity are dominating. Down payments are larger than they have been in decades. Median down payment among all buyers is 19&, with repeat buyers putting down around 23%. And the rise of all‐cash purchases, 26 % of transactions, further underscores how those with financial flexibility can bypass financing constraints.

This split market has serious implications. First-time buyers face reduced bargaining power, tighter inventory, and higher cost burdens just to enter the market. Meanwhile, equity-rich buyers are consolidating ownership and influence. The result is a real‐estate landscape in which homeownership increasingly reflects prior wealth and opportunity rather than solely current income or creditworthiness.

Generations, Sellers, and Market Mobility

Age and generational trends are central to understanding how the market is shifting. The typical repeat buyer in the report is now 62 years old, while sellers have a median age around 64, which is another record high contained in NAR’s latest report. This indicates that baby boomers and older homeowners are now the dominant players in both buying and selling, having built significant equity over years of ownership.

One of the most potentially alarming trends involves households with children under the age of 18, which indicates a shrinking share of buyers. Young families now make up only 24% of buyers, which is much lower than in the past. Single women represent 21 % of buyers and single men 9 %, showing that traditional married‐couple households are no longer the dominant model. These shifts reflect demographic changes and economic pressures.

On the seller side, the share of homes sold as For Sale By Owner (FSBO) dropped to a record low of 5 %, while 91 % of sellers used a real-estate agent, the highest rate ever captured by NAR. Seller tenure has also increased. Homeowners are staying in their homes for a median of 11 years before selling, another record. The net effect is a slower churn in housing, reinforcing the advantages of those already owning property.

Affordability, Financing, and Down Payments

Much like the last few years, affordability remains a major hurdle. With mortgage rates averaging around 6.7 % during much of the time period, and inventory remaining tight, buyers are facing both cost and availability barriers. The larger down payments noted earlier reflect not only more wealth among buyers, but also tougher lending and cost‐of‐entry conditions that require bigger cash buffers.

The data show that 59 % of first‐time buyers relied on savings for their down payment, 26 % drew on financial investments, such as stocks and IRAs, and 22% received help from friends and family members. 54% of repeat buyers relied on the sale of a prior home to fund their next purchase. For those without these sources, entering the market becomes more difficult.

Additionally, the data show how the wealth gap is manifesting in real estate participation. Buyers with equity can make large down payments or pay cash, while buyers without those things must contend with higher debt, slower savings growth, and more constrained options. This gap amplifies the structural divide in homeownership access.

The Broader Implications for the Housing Market

These extremes signal deep structural shifts in how housing markets function. When the first-time buyer share falls to historic lows, the future base of homeowners thins. Homeownership, once a stepping stone to wealth accumulation for younger Americans, is increasingly delayed or denied. That delay can have long-term financial consequences, which include losing potential equity accumulation, higher lifetime housing costs, and less generational wealth transfer.

For sellers and industry professionals, the dominance of equity buyers and older homeowners means market dynamics may shift. With fewer young buyers, demand may soften over time, inventory may age, and price growth may face headwinds in segments historically driven by first-time buyers. In fact, some markets show early signals of this with slowed sales and longer time on market.

Policy flags include calls for greater affordable housing supply, easing of credit and down payment barriers, and zoning reform to help unlock inventory and broaden access. NAR itself highlights the supply challenge as central to reversing the first‐time buyer decline. The question remains how the market will adapt when a large portion of its future buyer base is sidelined.

What This Means for Buyers and Sellers

For buyers without strong equity or cash assets, the market is more challenging than usual, requiring strategic planning to compete or opt into less conventional routes (shared ownership, smaller homes, secondary markets, or waiting). Understanding that you may be competing with cash buyers or higher-down-payment offers is key.

Sellers who currently enjoy equity and strong market positioning are benefiting from less buyer competition and stronger terms, but they also may face future demand softness if the younger‐buyer cohort remains weak. Real-estate professionals must navigate a shifting landscape, adapting marketing, financing options, and service models to a buyer pool that is older, more cash‐rich, and possibly less mobile.

NAR’s 2025 Profile of Home Buyers & Sellers provides a stark snapshot of a housing market defined by extremes. Cash-rich repeat buyers are forging ahead, while younger, less affluent would-be owners struggle at the fringes. The long-term health of homeownership in the U.S. may depend not just on price or rates, but on structural shifts: wealth inequality, generational transitions, supply shortages, and financing barriers.

Whether you’re thinking of buying or selling, understanding these dynamics is essential. The playing field has changed. The question is whether the industry, government, and consumers can adapt fast enough to keep access to homeownership broad, meaningful, and equitable.