TYPICAL NEW HOMEBUYER’S ANNUAL INCOME OVER $100,000, NAR FINDS

November 14, 2023

By RIS Media Staff

The median household income for home buyers jumped to $107,000 from $88,000 from 2022 to 2023, underscoring the increasing income required to purchase a home, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ (NAR) 2023 Profile of Homebuyers and Sellers.

This annual survey of recent home buyers and sellers—this year tracking transactions between July 2022 and June 2023—has been published since 1981. For this survey, NAR mailed a 129-question survey out to 189,750 recent homebuyers (individuals were randomly selected but geographic span was weighted for a cumulative insight) in July 2023. After an adjusted response rate of 3.6%, NAR publicized the results with both the data and commentary from Jessica Lautz, the association’s deputy chief economist and vice president of research.

The key takeaways are as follows:

First-time homebuyers

First-time buyers made up 32% of all home buyers, up from the historic low of 26% in 2022’s report. However, this still falls below the 38% annual average since 1981. The typical ages for first-time (35 years) and repeat (58 years) buyers declined slightly from the record highs of 36 years and 59 years, respectively, last year.

“Given the erosion of housing affordability due to higher home prices and mortgage rates, the household income for those who successfully purchased homes jumped by nearly $20,000 and topped six figures for only the second time in our records,” said Lautz. “In a still-competitive housing market, more well-off home buyers were able to have their bids accepted by offering larger down payments and even by paying cash.”

Demographics of homebuyers and sellers 

Household composition also continues to shift. Seventy percent of recent buyers did not have a child under the age of 18 in their home, the highest share recorded. By comparison, in 1985, 42% of households did not have a child under the age of 18. See More

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