The median age of New York City-area homeowners has jumped to a stunning new high as the housing affordability crisis keeps young buyers locked out of the market, according to a new report.<\/p>\n
As of 2024, the median age of a homeowner in the area covering NYC, Newark and Jersey City was 58.8 years old \u2014 just a few years shy of Social Security eligibility, the National Association of Realtors, or NAR, said<\/a> earlier this month.<\/p>\n The figure also marked a 4.4-year increase from the median age of homeowners in the Big Apple and its neighbors in 2010.<\/p>\n As of 2024, the median homeowner in the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area was 58.8 years old. Daisy Daisy \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n The homeownership rate barely budged over the same period \u2013 slipping from 52.7% in 2010 to 51.3% in 2024, according to the data.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople keep talking about, \u2018The housing market is frozen,\u2019\u201d Vlora Sejdi, former president of the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors, told The Post. \u201cIt\u2019s not frozen. It\u2019s aging.\u201d<\/p>\n While the homeownership rate hasn\u2019t shifted much on paper, the profile of the typical homeowner has drastically changed. That\u2019s because baby boomers are holding onto their property for longer while younger households are delaying ownership until later in life.<\/p>\n Homeownership rates for those aged 25 to 34, 34 to 55, 45 to 54 and 55 to 64 have all seen declines, while the only group that has held strong is households 65 and older, NAR found.<\/p>\n Nationwide, the median first-time homebuyer is officially 40 years old<\/a>, according to NAR data released last year \u2013 up from 38 years old in 2024 and 33 in 2020.<\/p>\n \u201cAffordability is definitely a huge hurdle,\u201d Sejdi told The Post, nodding to high interest rates, stubborn inflation and a lack of starter homes in New York City and beyond. \u201cSaving up for a down payment while paying high rent really isn\u2019t easy.<\/p>\n \u201cYou add that to the other costs of living that have increased exponentially<\/a> and the fact that wages really haven\u2019t, it makes it a much higher barrier than it was for their parents or their parents before them to be able to afford that first home,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n The cost of homeownership has soared out of reach for many Americans, with the average family needing to earn $110,000 a year to own a typical home, according to real estate broker Redfin \u2013 about 29% higher than what the median household actually makes.<\/p>\n The NYC homeownership rate barely budged \u2013 slipping from 52.7% in 2010 to 51.3% in 2024, according to the data. Matthew McDermott<\/p>\n The figure marks a huge downturn compared to 2010, when first-time buyers earned about 15% more than what was needed to afford an average starter home, the NAR said.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s really not much housing availability at all,\u201d Sejdi said. \u201cOver the last decade, a lot of what\u2019s been built has been larger and more expensive, so the lack of starter homes in addition to the lack of funds make it really difficult for a first-time home buyer, which is why we\u2019re seeing them start the process later.\u201d<\/p>\n Housing advocates have argued that an inadequate supply of affordable housing and low construction rates are to blame for young people\u2019s inability to snap up homes, especially as prices on consumer goods remain stubbornly high.<\/p>\n President Trump has unveiled several initiatives aimed at addressing the housing affordability crisis, including a $200 billion mortgage bond-buying spree<\/a> and a homebuying ban on large investors<\/a>. <\/p>\n Baby boomers are holding onto their houses for longer after they locked in properties at low interest rates. Daniel \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n