NAR 2025 Profile of Home Buyers, Sellers Reveals Market Extremes

NAR 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers Reveals Market Extremes

The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) released its 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, highlighting contrasting forces shaping the housing market. The market is divided between affluent, all-cash buyers reaching record highs and financially constrained first-time buyers at historic lows.

"Unfolding in the housing market is a tale of two cities," says Jessica Lautz, NAR deputy chief economist and vice president of research. "We’re seeing buyers with significant housing equity making larger down payments and all-cash offers, while first-time buyers continue to struggle to enter the market."

Key Market Trends

First-time buyers now constitute only 21% of the market, the smallest share since tracking began in 1981.
Before 2008, first-time buyers made up around 40% of home sales consistently.
Limited inventory and affordability issues have significantly reduced the presence of newcomers in the market.

"The historically low share of first-time buyers underscores the real-world consequences of a housing market starved for affordable inventory," Lautz adds.

This split in buyer profiles is driving a change in the market’s composition, with financially strong buyers dominating transactions while many potential homeowners remain sidelined.

Author’s summary: The 2025 NAR report exposes a sharply divided housing market where wealthy buyers thrive as affordability barriers push first-time buyers to the sidelines.

National Association of REALTORS® — 2025-11-05

NAR 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers Reveals Market Extremes

Key Market Trends

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