Key Details:
- The National Association of Realtors®’ 2024 report reveals that the typical home seller’s age has climbed to 63, with married couples making up 69% of sellers, marking an increase for the first time in four years.
- Most sellers are motivated by a desire to live closer to family, while the share of FSBO (For Sale By Owner) sellers has dropped to a historic low of 6%, highlighting an increased reliance on real estate agents for smoother transactions.
According to the latest report from the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), the typical age of home sellers has reached 63 years—the highest ever recorded for NAR’s annual Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers.
NAR has been publishing its flagship report on home buyers and sellers since 1981, sharing insights on buyer and seller characteristics and behavior to assist real estate agents in serving them. The 2024 edition includes multiple historic highs, not to mention at least one all-time low.
The historic low? The share of home sellers choosing the for-sale-by-owner (FSBO) route. It’s still something people do, particularly those who already know the buyer. But according to NAR’s 2024 report, FSBO owners accounted for only 6% of home sellers—a record low that deserves a closer look.
2024 Seller Profile
As already mentioned, the typical age for home sellers in NAR’s 2024 report is 63 years—the highest ever recorded for this data series.
Married couples accounted for 69% of home sellers this year, up from 65% the previous year, marking the first increase for this share in four years. The share of single women home sellers declined this year to 18%.
Meanwhile, 77% of sellers did not have children under the age of 18 living with them.
When comparing the home sold to the home purchased:
- 18% of home sellers bought a home in a region different from the one in which they sold their previous home
- 66% moved within the same state while 16% stayed in the same region
- 36% traded up and bought a home that was larger than their previous home
- 30% bought a home that was similar in size to their previous home
- 32% downsized, buying a home that was smaller than their previous one
- 52% bought a home that was newer than their previous home
- 27% bought a home that was similar in age to their previous one
- 25% bought an older home
Among home sellers, the most common reason given for selling their home was to move closer to family and friends (23%), followed by—
- Home was too small (12%)
- Home was too large (11%)
- Neighborhood becoming less desirable (10%)
Family support systems are influencing buying and selling decisions. Being close to friends and family is the top reason to sell, while buying a home convenient to friends and family continues to grow in importance. Today’s buyers are less likely to be concerned with their work locations when purchasing, perhaps because of a higher share of older repeat buyers and remote work flexibility remaining a factor.
Tenure and Home Seller Experience
The median homeowner tenure for sellers was 10 years, the same as the year before but higher than reported from 2000 to 2008, when the median tenure was only six years.
The final sale price for recently sold homes was a median 100% of the final listing price, which continues to be the highest recorded median since 2002. For all home sellers whose transactions fell between June 2023 to June 2024, time on market was a median of three weeks—one week longer than the previous 12-month period.
As to seller satisfaction with the home selling process:
- 68% were “very satisfied”
- 22% were “somewhat satisfied”
A subset of those “somewhat satisfied” sellers could become future FSBO sellers. But for the time being, that particular segment has reached an all-time low.
FSBO Sellers Fall to Historic Low
Nine out of ten (90%) sellers sold their homes with the help of a real estate agent—up from 89% the year before. And only 6% were for-sale-by-owner (FSBO) sellers, marking a record low.
Among home sellers who knew the buyer, 38% sold their homes on their own. But 95% of sellers who did not know the buyer hired an agent.
As to the characteristics of FSBO homes sold from June 2023 to June 2024, 8% of mobile or manufactured homes were sold without an agent (FSBO), along with 5% of detached single-family homes.
Ninety-six percent of apartments/condos in a building with at least five units were sold with the help of a real estate agent.
FSBO homes typically sell for less than the final sale price of homes sold with an agent. In NAR’s 2024 report, FSBO homes sold for a median sale price of $380,000 in 2023—up from $310,000 in 2022. However, this is still well below the median sale price of the typical home sold with the assistance of a real estate agent ($435,00).
The most common way FSBO sellers priced their homes was through a property appraisal (40%), followed by—
- Using recent homes sold in area (36%)
- Online home evaluation tools (16%)
- Profit seller needed from the sale (15%)
Most FSBO sellers (94%) did not offer any buyer incentives to sell their homes.
The two biggest reasons why FSBO owners chose this route to sell their homes:
- Sold to a relative, friend, or neighbor (38%)
- Didn’t want to pay a commission or fee (30%)
Sixty-three percent of FSBO sellers did not actively market their homes. And the most difficult part of the home selling process for them, according to NAR’s report:
- Getting the price right (17%)
- Selling within the length of time planned (13%)
- Understanding and performing the paperwork (10%)
Among FSBO owners who knew the buyer, however, 77% were very satisfied with the process of selling their home.
Read the full report for more information.
