(The Hill) — The share of first-time buyers in the housing market ticked upward this year but remained near record lows, according to a new report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). First-time home buyers made up 32% of the market this year, up from 26% in 2022, but below an average of 38%, the report found.

“First-time buyers tiptoed back into the market this year with less competition and fewer multiple-offer scenarios,” Jessica Lautz, NAR’s deputy chief economist and vice president of research, said in a statement. “Given the erosion of housing affordability due to higher home prices and mortgage rates, the household income for those who successfully purchased homes jumped by nearly $20,000 and topped six figures for only the second time in our records.”

While both the average first-time home buyer and the average repeat home buyer have gotten older over the last four decades, this change has been more prominent among repeat home buyers. The typical age of both first-time and repeat home buyers also fell slightly in 2023, dropping from 36 years to 35 years for those purchasing their first homes and from 59 years to 58 years for those who have previously purchased homes.

In the early 1980s, first-time home buyers were typically in their late 20s, and repeat home buyers were typically in their mid-30s. Now, first-time buyers are in their mid-30s, and repeat buyers are in their late-50s. The annual household income of home buyers also rose 22% in the past year, jumping from $88,000 in 2022 to $107,000 in 2023, according to the report released on Monday.