The age demographic in the housing market has been making a drastic shift. Baby boomers (above 65 years of age) are moving towards retirement, the millennials (18 to 34) are still holding back a property purchase waiting for the economy to stabilize and the future generation has its hopes high about home ownership.
Considering the dynamics of the demographic, realtor.com put together a series of interactive maps that show the median age of a homeowner in every state in America.
Their research is based on housing data collected over a decade (2003 to 2013). Home sales and purchases of primary residences only were considered in the survey.
The study found that Pennsylvania and Michigan had the lowest median homeowner age at 29; while Oklahoma, Florida and Arizona had the highest median age for homeownership at 55 years.
In Oklahoma and North Dakota, the median age of a first time home buyer was 25, while it was 42 in Mississippi. Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana displayed stable results when it came to the age of first-time home buyers throughout the years. The median age fluctuated the most in Nevada and Texas.
You can take a look at their maps here.
A recent intelligence report by US News asserted that there needed to be new policies for the changing needs of housing and the property market. The report asserts that though demand for multi-family rental units have only now caught fire, over a decade (1991 to 2011) - homeownership grew 27 percent.
The report also highlighted some major age demographic changes over the period noting that between 1991 and 2001, those aged 35 and older took the largest share of homeownership. But after the recession, the market saw a sharp decline in homeownership among people aged between 30 to 40.
"U.S. housing needs to evolve with these changing demographics. And housing policy can help. First, an older population means more aging-in-place. This dynamic will require remodeling existing homes for changing life-cycle needs, which in turn requires protecting and enabling access to homeowner equity - typically the largest source of savings for most households," Robert Dietz writes for US News.
Of late, several studies have highlighted how various age demographics feel about the housing market. While each generation has different expectations, they all have one thing in common - the desire to own a home.
