Home sellers start getting lower prices at 70, research shows
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For homeowners who sell their house later in life, that timing may come with a cost, new research suggests.
Once sellers reach about age 70, they start getting lower sale prices for their houses compared with younger homeowners, according to a January research brief published by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.
Compared to sellers in their 40s and 50s, an 80-year-old homeowner gets a 5% lower price for a house held for about 11 years, according to the study. On a typical home price of $405,400 — the national median sale price in December, according to the National Association of Realtors — this amounts to a loss of $20,270. This gap continues growing as homeowners age.
It’s a scenario that more home sellers may be poised to encounter.
As of 2024, there were 65 million baby boomers — those born 1946 through 1964 and in their 60s and 70s now — accounting for 20% of the U.S. population and 36% of total homeowner households, according to Freddie Mac.
Those older homeowners are largely staying put, which at least partly contributes to the lack of housing availability and elevated prices in the current market — although those factors are starting to ease. About 68% of baby boomer homeowners say they will likely age in place, according to a 2024 report from Freddie Mac.
Why older sellers may see lower returns
Part of the disparity in returns is tied to home maintenance: Homes sold by older owners are more likely to show signs of deferred upkeep or fewer upgrades, according to the research. That can weigh on sale prices even after accounting for location and market conditions.
Additionally, the research indicates that older homeowners are more likely to sell through private, off-market listings — deals that never appear on the public Multiple Listing Service, or MLS, where most buyers search via online real estate sites. Those sales limit competition and are more likely to involve investors, which is associated with lower sale prices, according to the CRR briefing.
The study linked housing transactions in CoreLogic’s database, which includes details like sale date, price and deed type, to voter registration records — which are limited to U.S. citizens and primary residences — to establish the sellers’ ages. Researchers also conducted a repeat-sale analysis to compare sales of the same home over time, using data spanning from 1998 to 2022.
Median home equity for age 65-plus is $250k
For many homeowners, their house will be one of their largest assets as they head into retirement. In 2022, median home equity for homeowners age 65 and over was $250,000, up 47% from $170,000 in 2019, according to a 2023 report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University. That amount represents roughly 50% of the median wealth among households for 65-year-olds or older.
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