Long Island home seller age creeping up as more stay put longer, experts say

The typical age of home sellers across the country was 64 this year, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers.

The data also shows that the median amount of time Americans owned their homes before selling is 11 years — an all-time high for the report, which has been published for more than 40 years.

This year, Long Islanders fared similarly, with some sellers even older and staying in their homes longer than the national data shows, according to local experts.

Marsha Welikson is a real estate agent with Signature Premier Properties, based in Merrick. She works "almost exclusively" with senior sellers, but there are several reasons many are not rushing to put their homes on the market, she said.

"I notice that many people are working well into their 60s, 70s and even 80s," Welikson said. "So the thought of them moving when they retire has really changed, because they're working so much longer."

Welikson has represented home sellers aged from their 60s into their 80s. She offers seminars twice a year at local libraries that offer tips on the real estate market from professionals, such as elder lawyers, home inspectors and stagers. At her seminar earlier this month, 95% of attendees were seniors, she said.

Denise Lanzarone, a real estate agent for Keller Williams Points North in Woodbury, specializes in helping seniors with their real estate transactions.

"Most of my seniors have been in their homes for a very long time," she said. "I'm finding with most of my seniors, it's 20-plus years. And what's happening with me is they're contacting me thinking about moving, and from that first conversation to actually listing the house, it's at least 6 months to two years."

That's because there is "a lot for them to figure out" first, Lanzarone said, such as cleaning out their homes, making repairs or, in some cases, dealing with probate or deed issues.

During the selling process, a lot of seniors are "surprised they can still get very high numbers for their homes," Welikson said. But then comes the sticker shock while buying.

"A lot of them want to move to a condo, and they don't want to worry about the lawn and all that other stuff," Lanzarone said. "But condos are expensive on Long Island, the HOA fees are enormous, and they don't want to have more expenses at this point in their lives."

Lanzarone, who has worked with sellers in their 60s and even some in their 90s, said seniors should plan ahead and stay organized when they're thinking about selling.

"It's important for seniors to organize their legal documents pertaining to their homes," Lanzarone said. "It's another part of planning: Get all your documents together, know what they are and where they are. It makes it so much easier."