I was surprised to learn that the national average age of home sellers in 2023 is 60. I thought it would be younger. Here are some numbers from the National Association of Realtors' Home Seller Profile from last year:
The typical home seller's age was 60, unchanged from last year. For all sellers, the most common reasons for selling a home were wanting to move closer to friends or family (23%), outgrowing their home (13%), and a change in family situation, such as marriage, divorce, or the birth of a child (10%). Sellers typically lived in their home for 10 years before selling. In seven of the past 10 years, the typical length of residence was 10 years. 39% of sellers traded up to a larger home, and 33% purchased a smaller home. 89% of home sellers worked with a real estate agent to sell their home, 7% sold as a FSBO, and less than 1% sold with an iBuyer. The final sale price of recently sold homes was a median of 100% of the final asking price, remaining the highest price recorded last year since 2002. The median time recently sold homes were on the market was two weeks, unchanged from last year. 92% of sellers were at least satisfied with the selling process. Small Homes
Home buyers want to ask why a house is for sale or why the owners are moving, and the answer is almost always due to some change in circumstances rather than any major issues with the home.