This is the average age of first-time homeowners in California

LOS ANGELES - More and more millennials are apparently living with mom and dad in order to save for a home, data shows.

According to a report by the National Association of Realtors, around 27% of first-time homebuyers in 2022 moved directly from a friend or family member's house - that's the highest share since the group started keeping track in 1989.

To expand on that, a study conducted by the University of California, Berkeley found that the average age of most first-time homebuyers in California is now almost a decade older compared to the 1980s. 

In a recent study analyzing the "sliding homeownership ladder," data showed the majority of residents in California don't own a home until age 49.

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"While the typical timing of life cycle milestones such as marriage and childbearing can also influence rates of homeownership, most of the gap follows from residents’ financial ability to afford a home in the state," the study noted.

According to the research, the difference in financial ability to afford a home makes up for 55.6% of the observed difference in homeownership rates between residents ages 25-75 of California and the rest of the U.S.

Based on this study, 43.5% of people aged 25–75 were homeowners in 2021 - down from 49.8% in 2000.

"The decline was even more pronounced for younger Californians aged 35–45, an age range when many people in other states become homeowners," researchers indicated.

Analysts suggested that a slower housing price growth in California would have helped more homebuyers.

"Had housing prices in California risen from 2000 to 2021 in line with those in the rest of the country, about half (48%) of California’s decline in homeownership rate over the period could have been averted," researchers said. 

If you have your sights set on purchasing a home in 2024, this may be the year for you. According to data, mortgage rates continue to drop to more manageable levels for homebuyers, declining for nine consecutive weeks and potentially dropping further in 2024.

The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 6.61% for the week ending Dec. 28, according to Freddie Mac's latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey