It’s funny how the stock market and real estate market are often mentioned in the same breath, yet they lead very different paths. That much is painfully obvious when you look at how the two markets have related to each other over the past few years.
And now this relationship is hitting the next step in its evolution, and it’s bringing some changes.
As this happens, here’s what US homebuyers are getting…
Older.
US homebuyers are getting older when you look at the median age of those who pull the trigger on purchasing a home now versus in the past…
Median age of US homebuyer:
- 1985 – 35 years old
- 2005 – 39 years old
- 2015 – 43 years old
So home buying seems to be following in the trend of Americans waiting longer to do things like get married and have children, but is it a big deal?
Not if you look at the current situation of the housing market.
August marked the highest level of new home sales since 2008, and construction crews are starting on homes as fast as they have since the recession.
So instead of dragging down a climbing stock market like it has over the past few years, the housing market is actually boosting a struggling Wall Street.
And along with homebuyers getting older, an interesting note is that houses are getting a bit bigger. For whatever reason, people are trending towards adding more bathrooms to their homes than ever before.
But the question remains, why is the median age of homebuyers rising?
One answer offered by many is that increasing student loan debt is keeping people from buying homes as early as they used too. Student loan debt is clearly a growing issue, but there are stats to prove that the difference in likeliness to buy a home for people with zero debt compared to those with up to $50,000 in debt is almost nothing.
Either way, it doesn’t look like this 30-year trend of homebuyers getting older is going to reverse anytime soon…
