Sorry, Gen Zers: The new poster children for homeownership across the US look like your parents and grandparents.

The median age of homebuyers in the US has hit an all-time high of 59 – just three years shy of eligibility for Social Security benefits, according to the National Association of Realtors.

In its report on home-buying habits for the 12 months ending in July, the trade group also found the age of first-time homebuyers had reached 40. 

Those numbers are particularly shocking given that just four years ago in 2021, the median age for homebuyers was 47 and for first-time buyers, it was 33.

Accordingly, the NAR recently scrapped a photo of a young, expecting couple planned for the cover of its annual survey and replaced it with an older duo nearing retirement.

“The original cover had a very cute, young couple who was expecting, and I said, ‘That’s not going to work,’” Jessica Lautz, the association’s deputy chief economist, told NPR.

Factors barring young people from homeownership include lack of housing supply, economic uncertainty and, of course, high costs, experts say.

The past year and a half have seen mortgage rates hovering in the high 6% to low 7% range, noted Jay Batra founder and broker at Batra Real Estate. That compares to rates around 2% to 3% back in 2021, as COVID raged.

“One of the obvious reasons is the monthly cost – it’s so high,” Batra said of challenges facing young people. “The cost to own has almost doubled, which is significant.”

Incomes haven’t kept pace with the rising prices, added the broker, whose firm operates in New York City and Miami.

“Salaries have not gone up nearly as much as costs,” he told The Post. “Taxes are high, and common charges in cities like New York and South Florida add up. The total monthly sum people need to afford is quite a lot.”

The National Association of Realtors found that among recent deals, only about one in five was the buyer’s first home – down from about 40% before the Great Recession.

“A big chunk of our buyers are established professionals or business owners,” Batra said. “A lot of them are couples in their 40s, 50s or late 30s. That’s definitely the age range where most people are buying right now.”

Many of the homeowners who snatched up property during the pandemic simply aren’t leaving.

The average length of time people have been staying in their homes before selling them is now 11 years – an all-time high, according to the realtors’ association.

“That limits what’s available for both first-time and move-up buyers,” said Alexander Kalla, a Bay Area Realtor with Keller Williams Bay Area Estates in Los Gatos, Calif.

Kalla listed some additional factors shrinking housing supply.

“Investors continue to hold and purchase homes, competing directly with regular buyers for a very limited number of listings,” he told The Post. “Retirees are also active in the market, often buying for lifestyle reasons rather than necessity, which makes supply even tighter.”

Overall, the housing market currently works to the greatest benefit of “older, wealthier and repeat buyers who can leverage significant housing equity.”

“They’re trading up, downsizing, or relocating for lifestyle reasons rather than for work or family needs,” Kalla said.

President Trump recently proposed 50-year mortgages as a way to make homeownership more accessible. The idea drew backlash even from members of his MAGA base.

For boomers, long-term mortgages are moot.

“Boomers hold a substantial share of the nation’s housing, and their decision to age in place – combined with pandemic-era mortgage rates that discourage selling – has created a significant bottleneck,” said Aaron Buchbinder, a real estate agent in Boca Raton and broker associate with Compass.

For the lucky few youngsters who own a starter home, the traditional path to trading up may be closed off.

“Even those who already own a starter home are struggling to move up,” said Buchbinder. “The equity they’ve gained often isn’t enough to bridge the gap to a larger property.”

As inflation continues and Trump’s tariff policy fluctuates, it’s also an uncertain time to buy a home.

Kevin Knull, CEO of TaxStatus, noted younger people are putting off all kinds of major life decisions.

“Couples are waiting longer to get married,” he said, noting the average age of wedlock in 1981 was 24 for men and 22 for women.

Today, many people get married after 30 and have kids significantly later than they used to, too.

“A couple can live comfortably in an apartment until their children become mobile,” said Knull. “It’s at that point they want a house with a fenced yard for their kids to run around in – so a first-time home purchase around age 40 actually makes sense.”