The traditional “American Dream” includes marriage, 1.94 children, a dog and a cat, and a white picket fence around a suburban home. But that vision no longer fully reflects the reality of who is buying homes today. Recent data suggests the composition of today’s home buyers is much more diverse and nuanced.
The National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) 2024 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends Report found that home buyers now come from a variety of household types, from married and unmarried couples to single males and females. Here’s a breakdown of the 2024 data for adult home buyers:
Married couples. This cohort is still the largest buyer group, but the share of married buyers fell to 59% in 2024 from 61% in 2023.
Single females. Nearly one in five home purchases in 2024 were made by single females, more than both single males and unmarried couples.
Unmarried couples. This cohort held steady at 10% of home purchases, reflecting a healthy number of buyers entering the housing market before tying the knot.
Single males. This cohort represented 9% of buyers in 2024, unchanged from 2023.
The NAR report also broke down purchases from these four buyer cohorts across age groups. With this distinction, the variety of buyers became even more noticeable. Key highlights include:
Among young buyers (ages 18 to 24), household types were most evenly distributed. Married couples and single females both account for about 30% of purchases, followed by single males (20%), and unmarried couples (17%).
In the 34 to 43 age group, married couples accounted for 66% of home purchases. However, non-traditional buyers were still in the mix, with 13% of purchases by single females and 11% by unmarried couples.
Among older buyers – especially those 69 and older – single female buyers emerged as a powerful force. Single females comprised 25% of buyers in the 69 to 77 age bracket and 23% of buyers in the 79 to 98 age bracket.
“Single women are a powerful force in today’s housing market. Ladies are statistically less likely to be invested in stocks but are more likely to be homeowners than their single male counterparts,” says NewHomeSource chief economist Ali Wolf. “Owning a home is an important part of long-term wealth building. If you are a single lady home shopper, know that buying a new home might make a lot of sense. Home builders are offering homes within gated communities with a low maintenance lifestyle at a price point that might make sense for you.”
What It Means
The new-home market is equipped to provide the right home for buyers at all stages of life and households of all different compositions. Builders recognize that both buyers’ household types and age groups impact everything from home layout needs to budget and financing. With a broader variety of buyers, you are likely to see more homes with flexible floor plans, smaller footprints for solo buyers, and communities designed with specific lifestyle needs in mind.
More importantly, the NAR data is a reminder that no matter what your household looks like, there is a path to homeownership. Now is an exciting time to be a buyer and there are more choices than ever to help you get there. Whether you are purchasing a home on your own, with a partner, or as part of a multigenerational family, you are helping reshaped what homeownership looks like today.
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