NAR Pushes for Action on Housing Affordability

WASHINGTON — A recent report from the National Association of Realtors® shows that first-time home buyers over the past year made up just 21% of the homebuying market – a new low – and the average age of first-time home buyers has reached a new high of 40, up from 38 last year.

The numbers are a warning sign for the middle class and the broader economy, not to mention the American Dream, says NAR Executive Vice President and Chief Advocacy Officer Shannon McGahn. With the average homeowner’s wealth now 43 times that of a renter, the shrinking path to homeownership threatens the foundation of upward mobility itself.

McGahn says these shifts can lead to less equity in U.S. society over time. “Delayed or denied homeownership until age 40, instead of 30, can mean losing roughly $150,000 in equity on a typical starter home,” she says.

Affordability a key NAR priority

Improving housing access and affordability are pillars of NAR’s advocacy operations at the local, state, and federal level, McGahn says. “We need solutions that encourage more owners to sell, revitalize underused properties, streamline local zoning and permitting barriers, and modernize construction methods to build more homes faster and more affordably.”

For years, NAR has been pressing policymakers to take the affordability crisis seriously, advancing bipartisan policies that would expand access to ownership, promote more housing construction, and unlock affordable supply. In conjunction with the release of the report, NAR’s Advocacy Group released a menu of solutions at all levels of government that they are encouraging lawmakers to consider. These principles include:

• Federal policies that incentivize state and local governments to reform their zoning, permitting, and other laws that can delay or discourage development of new housing
• Tax incentives to assist and encourage prospective buyers to save funds for a down payment and closing costs on a first home
• Down payment assistance programs for first-time and first-generation borrowers
• Shared equity lending programs
• Use of assumable mortgages
• Credit scoring reform
• Lowering of loan-level price adjustments (LLPAs) – also sometimes known as risk-based pricing – at the Federal Housing Finance Agency
• Improvements to FHA, USDA, and VA loan programs
• Strong fair housing and fair lending enforcement
• Voluntary homeownership education and counseling programs

The menu of solutions also lays out legislative initiatives that aim to address affordability and access. Among its legislative priorities, NAR is advocating for:

• The ROAD to Housing Act is a comprehensive federal response to housing challenges, targeting barriers that have made it increasingly difficult for families to achieve homeownership
• More Homes on the Market Act (H.R. 1340) would decrease the “equity penalty” by increasing the tax exemption on gains on sale, and incentivize more long-term owners to sell their homes
• Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act (H.R. 3526) would increase the amount that can be withdrawn penalty-free from IRAs for a down payment on a first home
• Housing Supply Framework Act (H.R. 2840/ S. 1299) would create a national strategy for boosting housing production and affordability by reducing barriers to new housing development

State and local solutions

The issue of housing affordability is a priority for Realtor® associations at the state and local level as well. In a 2024 survey of state and local associations, 67% said that housing availability, affordability and zoning reform were their top issues for 2025.

Advocacy work at the state and local level is often supported through grants that provide resources to associations to lobby elected officials and support candidates and ballot measures that are favorable for affordable housing. NAR also joined the National League of Cities and the American Planning Association to release the Housing Supply Accelerator Playbook, a comprehensive guide to policy solutions that state and local governments can employ to increase housing stock in their communities.

To stem the erosion in first-time buyers, young people must see a path to homeownership – and sensible government policies are needed to help make that a reality, McGahn says. Solving the affordability challenge is not only good for the economy and for our communities, but it’s one of the surest paths for individuals to secure their financial future.

© 2025 National Association of Realtors® (NAR)