The Age of Experience: How Longer Life and Later Homebuying Impact Appraisals

The familiar life-stage sequence — young adult, family, homeownership — hasn't changed, but the timeline has stretched considerably. NAR data shows the median age at first home purchase has climbed from roughly 29 in the early 1980s to 40 in 2025, a new record, while the average age at first childbirth has risen from about 22.7 to 27.5 over the same stretch. Adults today are reaching these milestones later, but just as deliberately as before.

What is driving later homebuying

Several lifestyle shifts are compounding the trend: young adults increasingly prioritize mobility, travel, and flexibility over settling down early — a 2024 McKinsey report found 66% of travelers more interested in travel now than pre-pandemic, spending that competes directly with saving for a down payment. At the same time, longer life expectancy and improved health are stretching planning horizons to 30 years or more, so a home increasingly functions as a long-term anchor, retirement asset, or legacy property rather than just a first-purchase milestone.

What it means for appraisal demand

For appraisers, this reshapes demand rather than shrinking it: steady work continues across purchases, refinances, downsizing, estate planning, and legacy transfers, but with more complex, higher-value assignments — repeat buyers, estate and retirement planning, multi-generational housing, and investment properties all call for professional judgment and local market knowledge that a model can't replicate. Market volatility and life-stage shifts (rate changes, aging homeowners deciding to downsize) create their own bursts of demand, and as people live longer, their housing needs keep evolving — creating ongoing demand for re-appraisals and legacy or estate work. The age at which people buy has shifted, but what homeownership represents hasn't, and professional, defensible, local appraisals remain as essential as ever.