Property affordability, particularly for those under 35, has worsened, in different ways over the last twenty years in South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States.
A generational shift in South Africa
We reported in our June newsletter Profile of young buyers change but numbers fall that buyers in South Africa under 35 were a diminishing category. Those under 30 dropped from 24% in 2005 to 14% in 2025, while those aged 31-35 fell from 20% to 16% and, as the graph below shows, buyers older than 35 increased from 55% to 71% of the market.
Age distribution of buyers: 2005 – 2025
The graph above, Age distribution of buyers: 2005 – 2025, captured just how buying patterns shifted, while the graph below, Age of buyers as a percentage of total: 2005 – 2025, showed buyers under 35 fell from 45% of all buyers to 30% in just 20 years. Buyers older than 35 jumped from 55% to 71%
Age of buyers as a percentage of total: 2005 – 2025
Not only did the proportion of sales to younger buyers drop, but they fell significantly in absolute terms too. Buyers under 30 dropped from 58 600 in 2005 to 21 300 in 2025, while the number of buyers aged 31-35 fell from 49 000 to 24 200 – in both cases a decline of more than 50%.
Absolute volumes dropping: 2005 – 2025
These trends were evident in both the United States and the United Kingdom.
The USA: the fast version of the story
According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), nearly one-third of homebuyers in the United States were 34 or younger in 2015, while just around 25% were 60 or older. By 2025, the situation had flipped: only 15% of buyers were 34 or younger and almost 50% of buyers were older than 60.
Share of buyers under 35
Source: Riskwire, July 2025
Information from 2005 was harder to find for the under 35 market, but surrounding data points suggested it was actually even higher at around 40%
Riskwire reported that baby boomers made up the largest segment of homebuyers in 2025, more than millennials who had led the market for several years. While many older buyers downsized or relocated for retirement or to be closer to family and friends, collectively they were buying more homes than any other generation.
What’s more, the share of FTBs dropped to a record low of 21% according to NAR’s 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. The typical age of first-time buyers also hit a new all-time high of 40 years. "The historically low share of first-time buyers underscores the real-world consequences of a housing market starved for affordable inventory," said Jessica Lautz NAR deputy chief economist and vice president of research.
"The share of first-time buyers in the market has contracted by 50% since 2007, right before the Great Recession. The implications for the housing market are staggering. Today's first-time buyers are building less housing wealth and will likely have fewer moves over a lifetime as a result.”
The UK: the slow-motion version
Data from the UK suggested a similar direction, with rising FTB age and shrinking young-buyer presence. The published data, however, was structured around FTB demographics rather than a whole-market age breakdown, so comparisons are difficult
While the UK doesn't publish a direct "share of all property purchases by under-35s" series the way NAR does, it does track the age of first-time buyers, which told a similar story:
The average age of a new homeowner in England was 34 in 2024-25, up from 32 in 2019-20, and the average age of FTBs in London rose from 33 in 2014-15 to 35 in 2024-25. Mortgage Solutions Nationally, the average UK FTB age has moved to 33.9 years, up from roughly 30.5 in 2007. Finder 25-34 year-olds made up about 60% of first-time buyers in 2022-23, down from 62% two years earlier, and the share of first-time buyers aged 45+ rose from 5% in 2019-20 to 9% in 2024-25.
Mortgage Solutions The English Housing Survey (EHS) run by the UK government (formerly DCLG, now MHCLG), offered an appropriate analysis, but it only tracks the age profile of FTBs, not all buyers (movers, downsizers, cash buyers, etc, are excluded).
First time buyers aged 25 - 34
Source: English Housing Survey (EHS), July 2026
There was no directly comparable age-band figure for 2005, but the EHS's predecessor survey (Survey of English Housing) showed the average FTB age was around 30.5 in 2007, versus 34 today.
Even though the FTB numbers above were drifting downward slowly (58-62% aged 25-34), the decline was less dramatic than the US collapse from approximately 32% to 15%.
The bottom line from the analysis was that the US all-buyer under-35 share nearly halved in a decade (32% → 15%), while UK first time-buyer age has crept up more gradually (average FTB age 32 → 34 since 2019-20 alone, continuing a longer rise from ~30.5 in 2007). However, these comparisons must be treated with caution as the USA’s whole-market figure was contrasted with a first-timers-only figure (UK).
Buyers in South Africa under 35 fell from 44% of all buyers to 30% in just 20 years, while buyers older than 35 jumped from 55% to 71%.
The challenges are more widespread though, and research from Realtor.com found a record 25.2 million adults under 35 lived with their parents in 2025. That’s nearly 1 in 3 young adults and higher than even the pandemicera count, but the growth came from working adults, not people waiting to find jobs.
The data suggests that for millions of young adults, a paycheck is no longer the clear dividing line between dependence and independence. And that poses a harder question for a housing market built around household formation: if having a job isn’t enough to leave home, what is?
