The median age of first-time homebuyers in the U.S. has climbed to a record 40, as soaring prices and mortgage rates over the last few years delay homeownership for millions of Americans. According to a National Association of Realtors (NAR) survey of transactions from July 2023 through June 2024, the age at which people purchase their first home has risen rapidly since 2021, when the median was 33. In 1981, when the survey was first conducted, the median age was just 29 years old.
NAR’s annual profile of buyers and sellers, released Tuesday, portrays a housing market where younger, cash-strapped Americans are struggling to become homeowners. Meanwhile, a wealthier, often older cohort is able to make bigger down payments and pay cash for houses. The association warned that this loss of a decade of homeownership could cost Americans roughly $150,000 in equity on a typical starter home.
Currently, the median price of an existing home stands at $415,200 — up more than 50% since 2019. At the same time, mortgage rates are roughly twice as high as they were in late 2021, further challenging affordability for first-time buyers.
Starbucks Strike Planned
Starbucks’ union members have voted to strike at the company’s U.S. stores, including some in Massachusetts, next week unless a contract agreement is finalized, the union announced Wednesday.
The strike is scheduled to begin on November 13, coinciding with Starbucks’ planned distribution of free, reusable red cups. “Red Cup Day,” a tradition since 2018, is typically one of the company’s busiest days.
Starbucks Workers United, the union organizing baristas, did not specify how many stores would be impacted. However, it stated that workers in at least 25 cities plan to strike, with more locations potentially joining if the union does not see “substantial progress” toward finalizing a contract.
