The average age for a first-time homebuyer in the U.S. these days has risen to 38 years old, up from from 35 in 2023. That's at an all-time high, and it says a lot about the state of the housing market today for new buyers.

At the same time, that number is just an average. People come to the housing market at all kinds of points in life.

Among first-time buyers is Caroline Scott. She is 75 and she bought her house in Milford, Massachusetts, in 2023.

“I have a 30-year-fixed mortgage,” said Scott. “And I'm hopeful that I'm going to live to be very close to the end of that period.”

Listen in the player above to hear her story.