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Buying a home has been a difficult endeavor for the past few years, driven by a lack of available homes for sale, high prices and relatively high interest rates. The challenges can be even more difficult when it’s your first time buying, potentially leading first-time buyers to push that goal to later years. As such, the median age of first-time home buyers hit 40 years old in 2025, a new high according to the National Association of Realtors.
In the last quarter of 2025, the market saw slightly lower prices and slightly lower inventory, which is typical for this time of year. Fortunately, the overall trend of available homes remains on an upward trajectory, which could make it easier for buyers in the future.
This analysis is updated quarterly. If you’re a member of the media and would like to discuss these findings and what they mean for potential buyers, please reach out to [email protected] to be put in touch with the author of this report or one of our other subject matter experts.
Key Findings
Affordability improved in the last quarter of the year, with rates dipping slightly and prices easing due to seasonality.
- Nationwide, list prices fell 4% in the fourth quarter, to $412,800, on average. This aligns with seasonal trends — the coldest months of the year often bring lower prices.
- Interest rates fell slightly over the quarter, bringing the typical estimated first-time home buyer payment to about $3,100, a few hundred dollars lower than the previous quarter.
- Typical listing prices across all 50 of the nation’s most populous metros fell from the third to fourth quarter, falling the farthest in Detroit (-8%), Columbus, Ohio (-7%) and Providence, Rhode Island (-7%).
Though inventory fell quarter-over-quarter, the overall trend in available homes continues to climb.
- Nationwide, the average number of listings on the market in the fourth quarter fell 5% to 1.05 million. Like prices, the number of active listings tends to fall in colder months.
- Despite this expected Q4 dip, inventory is up 13% compared to a year ago, signaling more homes available overall.
- From Q3 to Q4, the average number of homes on the market fell in most of the nation’s 50 most populous metros, but 48 of these metros still have more listings than a year ago.
- Compared with Q4 2024, listings have climbed the most in Washington, D.C. (+34%); Charlotte, North Carolina (+34%); Las Vegas (+32%), Raleigh, North Carolina (+29%) and Seattle (+28%).
The latest data
The number of active listings plays a big role in whether buyers will find a home that suits their needs.
How much you pay for a home depends significantly on where you buy. Pricing and competition vary across the U.S.
A home’s price is only part of the equation when determining monthly affordability — housing payments also generally include homeowners insurance, real estate taxes and private mortgage insurance if your down payment is less than 20%.
METHODOLOGY
Monthly median list price and list count figures are from monthly inventory data from the Realtor.com residential listings database as of March 1, 2026. All nominal list prices were adjusted to Dec. 2025 dollars using the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ consumer price index. All monthly median figures were compiled into quarterly averages.
The median age of first-time home buyers is 40, according to the National Association of Realtors’ 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. Estimated income for first-time home buyers was derived from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2024 American Community Survey metro-level median household income for householders ages 25-44 — the range likely to include most first-time home buyers — and adjusted to Dec. 2025 dollars using the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment Cost Index.
Homeowners insurance premiums were estimated using a sample policy profile across all markets through Quadrant Information Services.
Additional sources for this analysis include: population estimates and median real estate taxes from the American Community Survey, U.S. Census Bureau and the average Q4 rates on 30-year fixed mortgages, from Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
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