This chart, shared often on X, shows, allegedly, the median age of first time home buyers has risen and no young person can buy home. It is also completely false
(1) The age 59 figure was from a 150 question mailed survey that in general, only older retired people had the time to answer. The actual median age is likely 41, not 59. See The median American homebuyer is not 59 years old.
(2) The median age of the US population has increased from a long running age 28-30 to about age 40 now.
Population pyramid 1980
U.S. Census population pyramid 1980
Population pyramid 2025
(3) We supersized homes. Homes of the past were much smaller. The average new home in 1980 was 1,740 sq ft. Today it is about 2,400 sq ft, down from a recent peak of 2,700 sq ft. You are not comparing equal items.
(4) From 1970 to 1980, just 11 to 15% of US population had a 4 year degree. Today, 42% of adults have a 4 year degree. In the 1970s, most people got a job age 18-21, worked, saved, money, started a family, bought a house. Today, the majority go to college, 1/3d take on loan debts, and don’t start a career job until mid-20s. That delays everything, including first time home buying, shifting the age much higher.
(5) Covid era money printing did most of the lifting on home prices from 2020 onward. Without taking this into consideration, this chart is meaningless and used primarily to stoke intergenerational animosity.
