Median First-Time Homebuyer Now 40, Up From 30 in 2008, as Affordability Collapses

The median U.S. home costs $400,000, but most of the country can't afford anything close. The single biggest household group, 51.6 million households, tops out at a $200,000 home budget. Adding up everyone who can afford the $400,000 median or more still leaves a minority of the country.
This is the effect of 6.5% mortgages on a market where prices never fell: it prices out a generation. The median first-time buyer is now 40, up from 30 in 2008.
With few homeowners willing to trade a 3% mortgage for a 6.5% one, turnover has frozen, sales sit at record lows, and prices remain stuck near highs.