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The housing market is being transformed by lifestyle delays—here’s how
Actionable moves housing stakeholders can potentially make to benefit from this secular shift.
Lance Lambert
May 24, 2025
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The housing market is being transformed by lifestyle delays
One of the bigger underlying forces reshaping the U.S. housing market is the lifestyle delay phenomenon. Younger generations are pushing traditional life milestones further into adulthood: staying in school longer, marrying later, and having children later—and often having fewer children overall.
This secular trend, of course, didn’t start yesterday.
Indeed, this shift toward later-life transitions has been occurring for decades—and has happened across the developed world.
This cultural shift has implications for housing.
Delaying marriage and parenthood often means delaying the first home purchase. Historically, getting married or starting a family has been the primary trigger for buying a home. But with the median age of first-time homebuyers being 38 years old in 2024—up from 28 in 1991—that trigger is happening later.
Sure, some of the recent jump in the median first-time homebuyer age can be attributed to the sharp housing affordability deterioration in 2022—but lifestyle shifts are also playing a role.
At the same time, when Americans do form households, those households tend to be smaller than in the past. Birth rates have steadily declined, and more adults are living alone or with fewer dependents. Indeed, the share of 1-person and 2-person households are rising, while 3-person, 4-person, 5-person, 6-person, and 7-person households continue to shrink.
What actionable steps can housing stakeholders do to benefit from this secular shift?
From a business standpoint, don’t fight the trend—today’s housing market isn’t going to suddenly revert to the 1970s or 1990s, when large numbers of early 20-somethings were entering homeownership. Demographic and lifestyle shifts mean that younger buyers are entering the market later, and that reality is here to stay (even if the median first-time homebuyer age of 38 in 2024 rolls over a little).
Agents, builders, and investors should pay close attention to the preferences of affluent 30-somethings—and increasingly, affluent 40-somethings. This group now represents a significant share of first-time homebuying activity, and importantly, many of them are poised to become repeat buyers in the years ahead. Understanding their needs today can build long-term customer relationships tomorrow.
There’s a rental opportunity to serve late 20-somethings and 30-somethings who, in past generations, would’ve already entered homeownership but are now spending more years in the rental phase. That’s the core thesis driving many of the build-to-rent developers I speak with. These communities offer transitional living for delayed first-time buyers—providing the space, privacy, and neighborhood feel of a single-family home, without the long-term commitment or upfront costs of ownership.
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So far this month, here are the additional housing research articles that ResiClub PRO members (paid tier) have received: