How old is the ideal age to own a house? Growing up around a TV always on, my point of reference was, of course, sitcoms.
- Ward and June Cleaver of Leave it to Beaver owned their homes at 485 Mapleton Drive and 211 Pine St. in the fictional town of Mayfield. Going by the actors’ ages, Ward would have been 48 and June 47.
- Mike and Carol Brady of The Brady Bunch owned their two-story home in some Los Angeles suburb. Going by the actors’ ages, Mike was 37 and Carol was 35.
- Roseanne‘s Roseanne Conner and Dan Conner were both 36. Bewitched‘s Darrin Stephens was 36 and Samantha was 31 (her character was at least 400 in witch years).
So, obviously, it’s a range of ages.
To settle the argument, we can turn to data. In a recent report, mortgage company Lending Tree has determined the average homeowner is between 51 and 52 years old.
The report broke down interesting Texas-specific numbers: The state’s largest cities have some of the nation’s youngest property owners. Austin, a hipster’s paradise for years, has the youngest homeowners at 47.58 average years, the best in the nation. Houston is third (49 years). Dallas is fourth (49.08).
But the sitcoms were about on target in their day. Homeownership age has been trending for decades, according to data compiled by the National Association of Realtors. In 2020, the median age of homeowners was 47 years. In the 1970s, nationwide homeowners had a median age of about 30. (If you want to go down a rabbit hole on this, click here.)
Who has the oldest homeowners?
Jerry Seinfeld was on the mark when he said: “My parents didn’t want to move to Florida, but they turned 60 and that’s the law.”
Miami has the oldest average homeowner at 54.47. Tampa is right behind at 54.19.
If you ever want confirmation of trends, turn to sitcoms.
