Here’s what most people think is the best age to buy a home

Buying a first home is a major financial milestone and is traditionally triggered by other major life events.

But even as the marriage rate declines and couples hold back on becoming parents until later, the key step of becoming a first time home buyer remains something for younger Americans.

A study on major financial milestones by Bankrate.com reveals that most respondents say the ideal age to buy their first home is 28.

However, there are differences of opinion when broken down to gender with 25% of men believing that 25 is the best age, compared to 12% of women.

Figures from the National Association of Realtors show that the actual median age of first time buyers is 32.

Regional data from Bankrate.com’s survey reveals that those who live in the Northeast have lower expectations for buying a first home than everyone else, including nearly 1 in 5 (18%) who think the right age is 35+ (twice as many as any other region).

Other financial milestones
The survey also asked about other major financial milestones including retirement with the majority saying that saving for retirement should begin at 22.

“There is nothing wrong with having an aggressive retirement goal,” said Bankrate.com analyst Amanda Dixon. “However, if you're striving to retire early, you need to start consistently setting aside money for the future right now. Time will be your greatest ally if you can get into the habit of saving money while you're young.”

Opening a first credit card should ideally be at age 22 too, while buying or leasing a car should be done at 21 according to respondents, who were from across age ranges.