When did “location, location, location” stop meaning “close to work”?
According to the NAR’s just-released 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, the number of buyers who cited proximity to their job as a top factor in choosing their neighborhood has dropped to just 31%. That’s nearly half the share from 2014, when it was 52%. It’s a striking reversal, given that many employers have tightened their return-to-office policies over the past year.
So, what’s really going on here?
The great reshuffle is aging, literally
It turns out today’s homebuyers are the oldest in modern history. The median age hit 59, while first-time buyers are now on average 40 years old, up from 38 last year and the late 20s in the 1980s. With age comes equity and flexibility. More repeat buyers, now with years of appreciation in their pocket, are making larger down payments (23%) or paying cash (30%), giving them freedom to move for lifestyle reasons instead of job proximity.
Half of repeat buyers are over 62, and nearly one in five cite being closer to friends and family as their top motivation, a theme echoed throughout the report. Affordability challenges have slowed the entry of younger buyers, but older generations are still buying, just differently.
The family home isn’t full anymore
Only 24% of homebuyers have children under 18 – the lowest share ever recorded! That figure was 35% a decade ago. The drop reflects both demographic and economic shifts: lower birth rates, rising childcare costs, and delayed family formation.
It’s no wonder that 14% of buyers purchased multigenerational homes, often to care for aging parents (41%) or save on housing costs (29%). Blended households are replacing empty nests
Boomers are the stay put Gen
Another subtle but powerful shift: Sellers are staying put longer, 11 years before moving. When they do, many are cashing out and buying newer or larger homes. Fifty percent of sellers traded up to a newer property, while one-third upsized.
With older, equity-strong sellers driving most transactions, the market increasingly favors those who already own. That’s the heart of the “two cities” story NAR’s economists describe: owners with cash versus would-be first-time buyers still locked out.
The diversity gap quietly narrows
Buried deeper in the report is a hopeful data point: 34% of first-time buyers identified as non-White, compared to just 15% of repeat buyers. That suggests new buyers, though fewer in number, are helping diversify homeownership, even in a tough affordability climate.
A market of late bloomers and long stays
The 2025 NAR Profile reads like a snapshot of a maturing housing market: older buyers, later starts, longer ownership, and fewer kids at home. The traditional “starter home to family home to downsizing condo” progression has fractured. Today’s buyers might skip steps entirely or stay in one place for decades.
That shift has profound implications for both agents and housing policy. For agents, it’s about serving a clientele that’s less defined by life stage and more by lifestyle. For policymakers, it’s a warning sign: when homeownership begins at 40 instead of 30, the ripple effects can last a generation.
Bottom line: When you think about “first-time buyers,” picture your parents – not your kids.
