Home sellers start getting lower prices at 70, research shows — and the gap widens with age

For house owners who offer their home later on in life, that timing might feature an expense, brand-new research study recommends.

As soon as sellers reach about age 70, they begin getting lower price for their homes compared to more youthful house owners, according to a January research study quick released by the Center for Retirement Research Study at Boston College.

Compared to sellers in their 40s and 50s, an 80-year-old homeowne r gets a 5% lower cost for a home held for about 11 years, according to the research study. On a normal home cost of $405,400– the nationwide mean list price in December, according to the National Association of Realtors– this totals up to a loss of $20,270. This space continues growing as house owners age.

It’s a situation that more home sellers might be poised to come across.

Since 2024, there were 65 million child boomers– those born 1946 through 1964 and in their 60s and 70s now– accounting for 20% of the U.S. population and 36% of overall house owner homes, according to Freddie Mac.

Those older house owners are mostly sitting tight, which a minimum of partially adds to the absence of real estate schedule and raised rates in the existing market– although those elements are beginning to reduce. About 68% of child boomer house owners state they will likely age in location, according to a 2024 report from Freddie Mac.

Part of the variation in returns is connected to home upkeep: Residence offered by older owners are most likely to reveal indications of delayed maintenance or less upgrades, according to the research study. That can weigh on price even after representing place and market conditions.

Furthermore, the research study shows that older house owners are most likely to offer through personal, off-market listings– offers that never ever appear on the general public Several Listing Service, or MLS, where most purchasers search by means of online realty websites. Those sales limitation competitors and are most likely to include financiers, which is related to lower price, according to the CRR rundown.

The research study connected real estate deals in CoreLogic’s database, that includes information like sale date, cost and deed type, to citizen registration records– which are restricted to U.S. people and main homes– to develop the sellers’ ages. Scientists likewise carried out a repeat-sale analysis to compare sales of the exact same home in time, utilizing information covering from 1998 to 2022.

For numerous house owners, their home will be among their biggest properties as they head into retirement. In 2022, mean home equity for house owners age 65 and over was $250,000, up 47% from $170,000 in 2019, according to a 2023 report from the Joint Center for Real Estate Research Studies at Harvard University. That quantity represents approximately 50% of the mean wealth amongst homes for 65-year-olds or older.

As Americans remain much healthier and live longer, more are offering their homes later on in life, stated Jessica Lautz, deputy chief financial expert and vice president of research study for the National Association of Realtors.

” We’re seeing that [sellers] are making deals at later ages than they utilized to,” Lautz stated.

In the 70-to-78 age, 38% of house owners have actually resided in their home for 21 years or more, according to the NAR’s 2025 Home Purchasers and Sellers Generational Trends report. In the 79-to-99 age, that share is 44%.

Likewise because latter age are 15% who offered their home for less than 90% of the listing cost– the biggest share of any age, according to the report. At the exact same time, nevertheless, they are likewise the least most likely age to use rewards to purchasers– e.g., home guarantees, help with closing expenses, and so on– Lautz stated.

Specialists state that it is necessary for retired people and near-retirees to be knowledgeable about those pricing patterns, particularly if they are relying on their home’s worth as part of their retirement strategy.

” From what we see dealing with older house owners, lower price generally originate from delayed upkeep and last-minute choices [that are] typically driven by tight capital in retirement,” stated Joon Um, a qualified monetary coordinator with Secure Tax & & Accounting in Beverly Hills, California.

” Little repairs get postponed, then purchasers observe whatever simultaneously and price it in,” Um stated.

Preparation ahead can make a huge distinction, he stated. Things like “reserving some money for maintenance, decluttering in time, and connecting the home sale into a more comprehensive retirement and money strategy can assist prevent offering under pressure,” Um stated.

It’s likewise worth adult kids, next-door neighbors or other relative watching on the maintenance of an older enjoyed one’s home.

” To the degree that you have a relationship with an older individual, secure their interests and make certain they’re looking after their home,” stated Philip Strahan, coauthor of the Center for Retirement Research study report.

When it comes to the real sales procedure, make certain you completely comprehend your choices for selling and how your options can affect the cost you get.

” When older individuals engage with the [real estate] brokerage neighborhood, possibly they must speak with adult kids, somebody they depend assist them,” Strahan stated.

At the exact same time, there might be factors that the lower prices is a compromise the house owner wants to make. For instance, Strahan stated, some might not desire others entering and out of their home, so a personal sale is more effective, even if it suggests a lower cost.

Or, maybe a costly upkeep task goes unfixed prior to the sale in exchange for the affordable cost, stated Lautz, of the realty representatives’ group.

In either case, the secret is to have a strategy in location so you can optimize the worth of your home as part of your retirement strategy, specialists state.

It is “a huge retirement property, not simply a location to live,” Um stated. “Handling it proactively can secure both worth and capital.”