Market changes over the last decade have resulted in people staying in their homes longer.
Through the Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers survey, the NAR’s Economists’ Outlook blog says that the median seller tenure in a home has risen from five years in 1985, to six years through 2008, to nine years in 2015. A high of 10 years was reached in 2014.
The survey asked first-time and repeat buyers how long they expected to stay in their homes. In 2006, first-timers thought they would keep their homes for six years, while repeat buyers guessed they would remain in their houses for nine years. In 2015, those figures bumped up to 10 years for first-time buyers and 15 years for repeat buyers.
