It was a year for the books — literally, as the 2024 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers included several record-setting stats. The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) publishes the report annually.
Notably, the market share of first-time homebuyers dropped to a historic low of 24%, while the median homebuyer age hit a historic high of 56. But some seller details set records, too.
FSBOs
Per the report, between July 2023 and June 2024, the share of for-sale-by-owner (FSBO) transactions dropped to 6%: another all-time low. This is no sudden shift, as FSBO transactions have gradually declined over the last 40 years. For context, in 1985, they made up 21% of all home sales. Still, the 6% figure marks a 1% drop from last year and the overall smallest share since NAR began tracking the info in 1981. (FSBO sales experienced a slight bump, to 10%, in 2022.)
“Even with the tremendous equity gains homeowners have had, no one wants to leave money on the table, and an agent can help determine the best-selling price and marketing strategy to find a qualified buyer,” NAR Deputy Chief Economist Jessica Lautz said of the data. “Buying and selling a home is likely the largest financial transaction of one’s life, and sellers want to have professional representation in that process.”
Seller data
In turn, 90% of sellers reported using a real estate agent, a 1% increase from last year. Of those sellers 87% said that they would either definitely or probably recommend their agent. On the flip side of the interaction, 86% of all buyers used agents and nearly 90% of them expressed satisfaction with that part of the process.
Meanwhile, the median age of homesellers reached 63 years, the highest ever recorded. This marks a three-year increase from both 2023 and 2022. The overall age of homesellers rose sharply after 2008, but the last few years mark a distinct increase. For context, in 2005, the typical home seller was 47; in 2020, 56.
Among those sellers, most were married couples: 69%. This marks a 4% increase from last year and, also, the first increase for this statistic in four years. At the same time, the share of single females selling homes decreased, to 18%; just 4% of home sales were by single men.
Across those demographics, the median household income for recent sellers was $112,500.
The most-cited reason for selling was the desire to move closer to friends and family (23%), followed by the home being too small (12%), the home being too large (11%) and changes in the neighborhood (10%).
“Family support systems are influencing buying and selling decisions,” Lautz concluded. “Today’s buyers are less likely to be concerned with their work locations when purchasing, perhaps because of a higher share of older repeat buyers and remote work flexibility remaining a factor.”