Title : Lean In: The New Homeownership Equation
Categories :
  • Brokers & Agents
  • Buyers & Sellers
  • Lean In
  • Real Estate Insights
Tags :
  • Advocacy
  • Affordability
  • Client Strategies
  • Down Payment Connect
  • DPR
  • KCM
  • Leadership
  • NAR Research

Being a REALTOR® Today Means Helping Consumers Navigate One of the Most Complex Housing Markets in Decades

The Desire for Homeownership Hasn't Changed

Homeownership has always required planning, compromise, and perseverance. Every generation has faced affordability challenges, but today's buyers and sellers are navigating a homeownership equation unlike any before. Rather than facing a single affordability challenge, today's consumers are balancing several variables at once: higher home prices, elevated mortgage rates, larger upfront cash requirements, and historically low inventory—particularly on Long Island.

Despite today's affordability pressures, Americans continue to view homeownership as one of life's most important financial and personal milestones. According to the National Association of REALTORS®, 85% of registered voters believe homeownership remains an essential part of the American Dream. Yet the path to achieving that dream looks very different than it did even a decade ago. Although household incomes on Long Island exceed national averages, housing costs have climbed even faster, creating a wider affordability gap for many buyers.

Homebuyer Household Income

  • Nationwide Median $81,604 (source)
  • Northeast Median $89,285 (source)
  • Long Island & Queens
    • Suffolk median $126,863 (source)
    • Nassau median $143,144 (source)
    • Queens median $85,273 (source) 

Price of Homes

  • Nationwide Median $430,000 (source)
  • Northeast Median $534,900 (source)
  • Long Island & Queens
    • Suffolk median $718,250 (source)
    • Nassau median $890,000 (source)
    • Queens median $850,000 (source) 

Borrowing Costs Are Back in Focus

Mortgage rates remain well above the historic lows many buyers experienced just a few years ago. While today's rates are still below the highs seen in previous decades, they have changed purchasing power, monthly payments, and the decisions buyers and sellers make throughout the transaction (source).

Down Payments

Today's buyers are also bringing more cash to the closing table than previous generations. Higher home prices translate into larger down payments, while competition has contributed to historically high levels of cash purchases. In 2025, 26% of home buyers paid cash for their home, continuing an all-time high for all cash buyers.

  • NAR research shows that in 2025, the median down payment among all buyers was 19%.
  • 23% for repeat buyers (the highest down payment for repeat buyers since 2003).
  • 10% for first-time home buyers (the highest down payment for first-time buyers since 1989).

Northeast

According to Realtor.com research: The Northeast posted the highest median down payment at $62,900, up 5.6% year over year, reflecting higher home prices, strong buyer financial profiles, and more competition.

Long Island Single-Family Inventory

Perhaps no variable has changed more dramatically than inventory. Over the past decade, the number of single-family homes available on Long Island has declined significantly, leaving buyers with fewer choices while increasing competition for available homes.

(source)

The Homeownership Equation Is Changing

The changing homeownership equation is influencing consumer behavior in measurable ways.

  • First-time home buyers decreased to 21% of the market share (24% last year). This year now marks the lowest share since NAR began collecting the data in 1981. Prior to the Great Recession (2008), the historical norm was 40%.
  • The median first-time buyer age increased to 40 this year from 38 last year.
  • The share of first-time buyers using an FHA loan has declined from 55% in 2009 to 28% in 2025.

Milestones to Sell are Changing

  • 76% of recent buyers did not have a child under the age of 18 in their home. This is the highest share recorded.
  • Convenience to the home buyer’s job has continued to decline and is now at 31%, down from 34% last year and down from 52% in 2014.
  • Overall, buyers expected to live in their homes for a median of 15 years, while 28% said that they were never moving.
  • The typical age of home sellers was 64 this year and is the highest ever recorded.
  • The median number of years a seller owned their home was 11 years, an all-time high. Tenure is up from 10 last year. From 2000 to 2008 the tenure in the home was only six years.

These trends illustrate that consumers are adapting their expectations and strategies in response to today's market realities.

As the path to homeownership has become more complex, REALTORS® have become more than transaction facilitators—you've become trusted advisors, educators, negotiators, and strategists. More than ever, a REALTOR®'s value lies in helping clients cut through uncertainty by providing perspective on the market, weighing competing priorities, and identifying new paths to homeownership.

Perspective: Shaan Khan | Licensed Real Estate Broker | RK Realty Group

 

Shaan: Mortgage rates move in cycles and history tells us significant drops don’t happen overnight. Meanwhile, home prices on Long Island and in Queens have climbed steadily for years because inventory hasn’t kept pace with demand. That’s the real driver. If you wait for rates to drop while prices keep climbing, you’re not saving money. In fact, you risk paying more for the same house later. 

Perspective: Mark T. Donnelly | Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker | Howard Hanna | Coach Realtor

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mark: When buyers feel discouraged, we take a step back and refocus on their goals—both short-term and long-term. Sometimes the right strategy isn’t changing the goal, but changing the path to get there. That may include expanding the search area, considering different property types, exploring financing options or down payment assistance programs, evaluating a home’s future income potential, or even considering different living arrangements that make homeownership more attainable. Every buyer’s situation is unique, and our role is to help them evaluate all of the opportunities available so they can make informed decisions that support both their immediate needs and their long-term financial goals.

Perspective: Gina Marie Bettenhauser | Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker | NYS Real Estate Instructor | MYNY

Gina Marie: Top dollar isn't achieved by chasing the market; it's achieved by creating demand. The market is driven by buyers' purchasing power, not sellers' expectations. When a home is priced strategically, it attracts the largest pool of qualified buyers, creating the competition that drives exceptional results.

 

 

Tips for Guiding Clients to Successful Outcomes

Buyers

  • Put today's rates into historical perspective. Check out the North East Affordability Index from NAR® here.
  • Help buyers understand the difference between their buying price and financing cost.
  • Explain refinance opportunities if rates decline in the future.
  • Discuss the opportunity cost of waiting in a low-inventory market. Especially for Long Island, where inventory is not rebounding as swiftly as other regions.
  • Expand search areas to neighboring communities.
  • Explore condos, co-ops, and townhomes.
  • Redefine what a first home can be.
  • Connect buyers with financing and down payment assistance programs.
  • Encourage buyers to think of a first home as a stepping stone rather than a forever home.

Sellers

Empowering Your Clients

As affordability continues to reshape the market, REALTORS® are helping clients think beyond traditional paths to homeownership. That includes exploring down payment assistance programs, many of which now extend beyond first-time buyers and single-family homes, as well as considering condominiums, co-ops, multigenerational purchasing, and expanding the geographic search area. More buyers are also embracing the idea of a first home as a stepping stone rather than a forever home, while renovation loans are making fixer-uppers a more realistic option in today's market.

Just as importantly, REALTORS® are educating clients on current market conditions and opportunities with trusted resources like Keeping Current Matters (if you haven't already, be sure to claim your complimentary LIBOR-sponsored KCM account). REALTORS® are helping consumers move forward by identifying practical strategies tailored to their goals.

P.S. Are you fully using your Down Payment Resource marketing benefit to reach more clients? Learn more here.

(Read Doreen's recent article about Lobby Day in Albany)

At the local level, LIBOR continues to advocate for projects that align with its pro-housing, pro-community mission. Most recently, LIBOR submitted testimony in support of Melville Crossing, a redevelopment project in the Town of Huntington.

A rendering of the Melville Crossing redevelopment

The project will transform a vacant, underutilized industrial site into a vibrant mixed-use community featuring approximately 400 residential units, including a mix of rental apartments and condominiums for purchase, alongside retail and public spaces. The development is designed to increase housing supply without displacing residents or impacting open space, while also generating economic activity and tax revenue for the surrounding community. Additionally, 20% of the rental apartments and 20% of the condominiums will be designated as affordable housing for individuals and families in accordance with the Town of Huntington affordable housing code and guidelines for the project.

In its testimony, LIBOR emphasized that responsible redevelopment projects like Melville Crossing are essential to addressing Long Island’s housing shortage. The plan includes opportunities for first-time homebuyers to build equity through homeownership, as well as designated affordable units to support working families, first responders, and seniors looking to downsize while remaining in the community.

NAR Advocates for Affordability:

Supporting The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act (view the Bill here)

Excerpt:

America faces an urgent housing affordability challenge. As the nation’s leading voice for real estate professionals, NAR’s nearly 1.5 million members witness daily how the lack of housing supply affects families across the country. With a shortage of 4.7 million homes and housing costs consuming a growing share of family budgets, too many Americans find homeownership—and even stable rental housing—out of reach. Indeed, according to NAR’s latest research, the median age of a first-time buyer has climbed to an all-time high of 40 years old.

NAR strongly supports bipartisan efforts in both chambers to address this crisis, and we believe Congress must act decisively to remove barriers to housing production and reform outdated programs, while giving communities the tools they need to build more homes.

Looking Ahead

While today's homeownership equation is undeniably more complex, it isn't insurmountable. Every buyer and seller's equation is different, and that's where a REALTOR®'s expertise makes the greatest difference. By helping consumers evaluate trade-offs, identify opportunities, and make informed decisions, REALTORS® continue to guide clients toward successful outcomes—even in one of the country's most challenging housing markets.

Resources in this edition: