By Kevin Hawkins
The American dream of homeownership is becoming increasingly difficult to achieve. The exceptions are if you already own a home or have access to family wealth.
When you go beyond the headlines announcing today’s release of the National Association of Realtors’ 2026 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, five remarkable trends jump out. Perhaps my favorite NAR research effort, the comprehensive 122-page report provides a fascinating look at how Americans buy and sell homes.
This year’s findings reveal a housing market increasingly shaped by cash buyers, inherited wealth, longer homeownership and the enormous challenges facing first-time buyers. And despite all the excitement about AI-powered search, the internet remains king.
Here are five findings worth a closer look.
1. Cash buyers have a huge advantage
One in four home buyers today pays cash. That’s more than double the 12% who purchased without financing in 2019. Among repeat buyers, 30% paid cash. That’s an enormous competitive advantage when you’re facing a first-time buyer who needs mortgage financing. Repeat buyers now account for a whopping 78% of all home purchases.
Does this mean cash buyers are squeezing first-time buyers out of the housing market? NAR’s research doesn’t directly measure how many first-time buyers lose out to cash offers, but the numbers raise an important question about who has the upper hand. The growing influence of cash buyers is one more reason the housing market looks very different depending on whether you already own a home.
2. The bank of mom and dad is changing
The typical first-time home buyer is now 40 years old, matching last year’s record high. Before 2008, first-time buyers traditionally represented about 40% of purchases. Today, they account for just 22%. But here’s an even more revealing finding.
A record 10% of first-time buyers purchased their homes entirely with cash. Their median age? An astonishing 54 years old, compared with 38 for first-time buyers who financed their purchases. Among these cash-paying first-time buyers, 28% used an inheritance, compared with just 9% of first-time buyers who financed. In other words, the bank of mom and dad is increasingly becoming the bank of inheritance.
And for those without family wealth, the challenge remains enormous. The median household income of first-time buyers climbed to $100,000, up from $94,400 last year. Another remarkable finding: 21% of first-time buyers lived with family or friends before purchasing their home. The question is becoming less about whether Americans want to own a home and more about whether they have the financial resources to make it happen.
3. Homeowners are staying put longer
The typical homeowner who sold in 2026 had owned their home for a record 12 years. That’s up from 11 years last year and double the six-year median recorded from 2000 through 2008. Why are homeowners holding on to their properties longer? One important factor is the mortgage lock-in effect.
Millions of Americans purchased or refinanced when mortgage rates were historically low. For homeowners with mortgages around 2.5% to 3%, selling means potentially giving up an exceptionally attractive rate and taking on a new mortgage at a significantly higher cost. NAR reports that mortgage rates averaged 6.33% during the study period. Its research also acknowledges that higher rates make moving less appealing.
The study doesn’t quantify how many homeowners are staying specifically because of their mortgage rates, but the financial incentive is hard to ignore.
Here’s another remarkable number: Buyers now expect to stay in their homes for a median of 20 years, and 26% say they never expect to move again. Longer ownership also means fewer homes turning over, creating another challenge for buyers waiting for the right property to become available.
4. First-time buyers are settling for less
Even when first-time buyers successfully purchase a home, they’re making sacrifices. According to NAR, 34% compromised on price, 28% on home size and 26% on the condition of the property. Only 23% of first-time buyers reported making no compromises, compared with 32% of repeat buyers. The typical first-time buyer purchased a 1,600-square-foot home, compared with 2,000 square feet for repeat buyers.
Think about that difference. First-time buyers are entering the housing market later in life, often with higher household incomes than previous generations, yet they’re still making big compromises. Meanwhile, existing homeowners can use enough equity to make larger down payments, pay cash or up their housing game. It’s another illustration of the widening divide between those who already own real estate and those trying to get their foot in the door.
5. The internet is still king, but AI search is coming
For all the buzz surrounding AI in real estate, NAR’s latest research offers a revealing reality check. More than half of home buyers, 53%, found the property they purchased on the internet. Nearly three out of four, 72%, used mobile devices or tablets during their home search. But when it comes to finding a real estate agent, AI search barely registers.
Here’s the stunning truth for agents paying firms to give them AI visibility: good luck with your ROI on that.
Only 1% of buyers found their agent through AI search. The same tiny percentage applies to sellers. In other words, compared with the established online real estate ecosystem, AI search is still just a speck on the butt of an elephant.
But don’t mistake that observation for dismissing AI. I am, after all, The REAL AI Guy!
AI is already assisting consumers with research, search and decision-making. Its role in helping buyers and sellers discover and evaluate agents is expected to grow substantially over the next few years. For now, the data shows that AI agent discovery remains in its infancy.
And there’s an important distinction: NAR measures how buyers and sellers found their agents through AI search, not how many consumers used AI to research neighborhoods, compare properties or learn about the buying process.
For brokers and agents, the message is straightforward. Don’t ignore AI discovery, but don’t fall for the hype that someone can guarantee you’ll dominate AI-generated recommendations. AI search results are unpredictable. Nobody can guarantee that your business will consistently appear in those responses.
The good news? Many of the fundamentals that make traditional SEO successful also help AI discovery. Accurate information, useful website content, proper schema markup and a strong online presence remain important. SEO is still king. AI discovery is an emerging opportunity, not a replacement. Someday, maybe. Today, no way.
What these trends mean for real estate
Taken together, NAR’s 2026 findings reveal a housing market undergoing profound changes. Existing homeowners have advantages that first-time buyers often cannot match. Cash purchases have become far more common. Inherited wealth is playing a growing role in determining who can purchase a home. And homeowners are staying in their properties longer than ever.
Technology continues to change how consumers search for homes and find agents, but it cannot solve the underlying affordability challenges. Perhaps the most important takeaway from NAR’s research is this: The American dream of homeownership is still alive, but the path to achieving it is becoming increasingly different for those who already have wealth and those who don’t.
Source: National Association of Realtors, 2026 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, released November 5, 2026.
