--- title: How Buying a Home Before You Turn 30 Is a ‘Wealth Multiplier’ description: Buying a first home before age 30 can boost net worth by $119,000 by 50, new data shows. But rising prices make it harder for young buyers. authors: - name: Adam Hardy role: Lead Data Reporter url: https://money.com/author/adam-hardy/ bio: Adam Hardy is a lead data journalist at Money, where he frequently reports on financial barriers that affect low-income Americans. Adam’s work has also appeared in Business Insider, Forbes, Nasdaq, The Penny Hoarder, Yahoo! Finance and more than a dozen local and regional newspapers. education: University of South Florida, BA, Magazine Journalism at_money_since: 2021 articles: 498 covers: - Housing - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - The Penny Hoarder - Forbes Advisor - Creative Loafing - The New York Times - The Washington Post - Bloomberg - Harvard Law School - The Federal Register - National Consumer Law Center - CBS News - Becker's Hospital Review - Business Insider - Mother Jones - The Week - Fortune - The Philadelphia Inquirer - National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NAFSAA) - Education Advisory Board (EAB) - The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS) - This Morning with Gordon Deal - Empower - Reddit social: - https://www.x.com/hardyjournalism - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hardyjournalism/ editors: - name: Katherine Peach role: Associate Editor url: https://money.com/author/katherine-peach/ bio: Katherine Peach is an associate editor with a focus on news and email at Money. She didn’t always intend to write about money. She’s a classically trained pianist who dreamed of becoming an archaeologist. However, in 2007 Katherine began working in financial publishing as an editor for Agora Inc. (Apparently, unearthing ideas about improving your personal finances isn’t such a bad career alternative!) Katherine’s writing and editing work has been featured in Investing Daily, Clever, Investor Junkie, The Palm Beach Letter, Truth & Plenty, Independence Monthly, NICHE, AmericanStyle, AntiqueWeek, Millennial Money, Money Done Right, TheStreet, Sure Dividend and many others. Katherine holds a Bachelor of Arts in Ancient Studies with concentrations in Archaeology and Ancient Languages and a minor in Literature from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. education: University of Maryland, Baltimore County at_money_since: 2025 articles: 14 covers: - Housing - Banking - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Federal Reserve Rate Cuts - Health and Wellness - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes published: '2026-03-16T17:21:55.000Z' modified: '2026-03-16T17:21:55.000Z' section: Housing tags: - News - real estate word_count: 542 canonical: https://money.com/buy-home-before-30-wealth/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Photo collage of a young adult in front of a Sold House sign](https://img.money.com/2026/03/News-Home-Wealth-Multiplier.jpg) Buying a home has long been a cornerstone strategy of building generational wealth, but new data shows just how much of an advantage first-time homebuyers get if they purchase early. Americans who buy their first home by age 30 see a 22.5% boost to their net worth by the time they turn 50, compared to those who wait until their 40s, according to a [report](https://mediaroom.realtor.com/2026-03-12-The-119,000-Early-Buy-Advantage-Realtor-com-R-Report-Finds-Home-Purchase-Timing-Reshapes-Generational-Wealth) by Realtor.com released Thursday. The advantage — which the authors refer to as a “wealth multiplier” — translates to a higher net worth of $119,000 on average. It all boils down to time in the market, experts say. “By gaining more years for appreciation and mortgage paydown, early homebuyers build a foundation of wealth that supports opportunities that cascade into the next generation,” Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com, said in a [statement](https://mediaroom.realtor.com/2026-03-12-The-119,000-Early-Buy-Advantage-Realtor-com-R-Report-Finds-Home-Purchase-Timing-Reshapes-Generational-Wealth) about the report. In other words, the earlier you buy a home, the more time you have to [build equity](https://money.com/use-home-equity-to-pay-off-debt/) in it and enjoy the perks of price appreciation. Not all of the so-called "wealth multiplier" comes from the home itself, however. The report also notes that owning a home provides a degree of financial stability that supports savings and investment elsewhere, which contributes to a higher net worth. | **Age of first home purchase** | **Additional net worth by age 50** | **Illustrative net worth increase (in dollars)** | | --- | --- | --- | | 28 to 32 | 22.5% | $119,000 | | 33 to 37 | 11.2% | $59,000 | | 38 to 42 | 1.5% | $8,000 | | 43 to 52 | 0% | $0 | _*Adam Hardy for Money; Realtor.com*_ ## The reality of buying a home at 30 For decades, buying a home at or before age 30 was the norm. These days, it’s the best-case scenario for most Americans. According to the National Association of Realtors, or NAR, the median [age of a first-time homebuyer](https://money.com/first-time-homebuyer-age-record-high/) is now 40. In the 1990s and through much of the 2000s, first-time buyers were usually in their early 30s. Then the COVID-19 pandemic wrecked the housing market, [pushing prices up](https://money.com/home-equity-increase-prices/) almost overnight... and boxing out large swaths of younger buyers. They now face a much different homebuying reality than previous generations. In 1990, the median home price was $96,800, while household income was $31,000, a price-to-income ratio of about 3-to-1, according to Realtor.com. Now home prices are at $418,000, and income is at $85,000, for a ratio of almost 5-to-1. Separate research from Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies found that the price-to-income ratio for home buying hit [an all-time high](https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/blog/home-prices-surge-five-times-median-income-nearing-historic-highs) recently. “With home prices so high relative to household incomes, would-be buyers need to save more and for longer to afford a down payment,” research analyst Peyton Whitney wrote in an [October report](https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/blog/home-prices-surge-five-times-median-income-nearing-historic-highs) for the group. “Down payments are already a significant barrier to homeownership, especially for first-time buyers, younger people, and households of color.” Today it takes a typical family nearly 10 years to save enough for a down payment, while it took a little over three years to do so in the 1990s, according to the Realtor.com report. "Homeownership has long been one of the most reliable ways families build and pass on wealth,” Damian Eales, CEO of Realtor.com, said in a statement. “Yet today, too many young people are stuck on the sidelines because buying a home has become increasingly out of reach.” ## Buy your home with more convenience and less hassle ![View Rates](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/38130/medium_29a2a129-cf1d-4fcb-a92d-901b0c9bf0f6.webp) Our Partner [View Rates](https://money.com/go/bb208addb65b?bidid=4030205912&pmeta=p129-c488-u36862&ptid=662369379&ptoken=3f71a145d4e5dcabf425188631f2b138&apxa1=financial-independence-average-age) ![View Rates](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/39711/medium_85521de9-b6c5-4b35-a129-169c217d0287.webp) Our Partner [View Rates](https://money.com/go/a6ad3bd8e825?bidid=4030205914&pmeta=p129-c488-u36862&ptid=662369379&ptoken=a22be7609742c93a58326095b238e7c9&apxa1=financial-independence-average-age) ![View Rates](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/34120/medium_4ba40e39-00f6-4f3e-9a12-67943aa4166f.webp) Our Partner [View Rates](https://money.com/go/d7f6cbf67608?bidid=4030205913&pmeta=p129-c488-u36862&ptid=662369379&ptoken=28dfe22e4d0050696ddf8c11df202379&apxa1=financial-independence-average-age) ![](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/26681/medium_57f09f10-efb8-487d-a73e-5f7d605144eb.png) Imagine finally owning your dream home — Rocket Mortgage (NMLS #3030) can help! [View Rates](https://money.com/pr/t39f99e0e0ab?ap_referrer=%2Fbuy-home-before-30-wealth%2F&apxa1=financial-independence-average-age) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/buy-home-before-30-wealth/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Housing", "item": "https://money.com/housing/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Home Buying", "item": "https://money.com/home-buying/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "How Buying a Home Before You Turn 30 Is a ‘Wealth Multiplier’" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/buy-home-before-30-wealth/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/buy-home-before-30-wealth/", "name": "How Buying a Home Before You Turn 30 Is a ‘Wealth Multiplier’", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2026-03-16T17:21:55.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/buy-home-before-30-wealth/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/buy-home-before-30-wealth/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2026-03-16T17:21:55.000Z" }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "How Buying a Home Before You Turn 30 Is a ‘Wealth Multiplier’", "articleSection": "Housing", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2026/03/News-Home-Wealth-Multiplier.jpg", "width": 1613, "height": 1075, "caption": "News-Home-Wealth-Multiplier" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Adam Hardy", "url": "https://money.com/author/adam-hardy/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/adam-hardy/#author", "description": "Adam Hardy is a lead data journalist at Money, where he frequently reports on financial barriers that affect low-income Americans. 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