In just one year, the profile of the typical Texas homebuyer changed dramatically as home prices and mortgage rates soared. They became much older, and minority groups took a smaller share of the market.
From July 2021 to June 2022, the median age of Texas homebuyers was 56, according to new research from Texas Realtors derived from a National Association of Realtors survey. That’s almost nine years older than the typical buyer from just a year before, who was 47.
During the same period, the share of first-time buyers in the market dropped from 32% to 24%. Texas Realtors cites higher mortgage rates and housing affordability as drivers of that trend. A decade before, 39% of Texas buyers were first-timers.
Just over half of purchases were made by people older than 44. People aged 25 to 34 made up just 14% of the market.
The typical Texas buyer was wealthier, with their median household income rising from $107,500 to $110,000 from the same period a year before.
More were veterans or active-duty military, with the share of those groups rising from 21% to 27%. Minority groups made up a smaller share of Texas buyers, shrinking from 30% to 23% of the market.
This change in demographics came as Texas home prices rose by tens of thousands of dollars, alongside a rapid rise in mortgage rates that overwhelmed many buyers with much larger monthly payments.
In 2023, home prices across the state finally stalled out. As of April 2023, Dallas-Fort Worth single-family home prices had sunk 5% from a year before to $404,450 while sales were down 8%.
Still, the region’s home prices have grown by more than $120,000 since 2020, and economists aren’t expecting a major decline that would return the market to pre-pandemic levels.
