Younger homebuyers face barriers in Nashville, nationwide
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Homeownership is slipping further out of reach for many 30-somethings as high prices and mortgage rates lengthen the obstacle course for first-time buyers.
Why it matters: Younger buyers in Nashville and nationwide are staying on the sidelines at record levels.
Driving the news: The median age of first-time buyers in the U.S. is now 40 — the oldest on record, according to a report by the National Association of Realtors.
- First-timers made up 21% of buyers between July 2024 and June 2025 — a new low in data going back to 1981.
Zoom in: There is some good news in the local data. Home inventory, which has been a pressure point in the Nashville area for years, has surged to its highest level in more than a decade, according to Greater Nashville Realtors.
By the numbers: There was an inventory of 14,282 available homes in the region at the end of October. That's 19% higher than the inventory at the same time last year.
Yes, but: Higher inventory doesn't mean easier access for first-timers. The median price for a single-family home in the area is more than half a million dollars.
What they're saying: "What we don't have is affordable starter homes," Nashville realtor Denise Moore tells Axios. "Builders can't really build a home and sell it for $250,000-$300,000 anymore, because of the price of land and material costs."
State of play: Moore says she has seen a downturn in younger clients. The ones she does have often have to build much more time for financial planning into their process.
- "We used to joke about a 30- to 90-day relationship with clients. Now it feels more like six months to a year."
Between the lines: Many younger shoppers are tapping into family money: 60% of Gen Z and 57% of millennials say they couldn't have purchased a home without help from relatives, BMO bank research shows.
- Some are co-buying with friends or moving further into the suburbs to get their foot over the threshold.
The other side: Equity-rich repeat buyers (with a median age of 62, the highest ever) have more ability to make big down payments and all-cash offers.
What we're watching: Nashville politicians are debating how to provide more starter home options.
- A series of zoning reform bills pending in the Metro Council are pitched as tools to thoughtfully increase density and add more middle-class housing.
- But there is a disagreement over that strategy. Neighborhood preservationists say those plans could tarnish the character of residential areas without doing much.