Housing Up, Furniture Down. The Market's Uneasy Disconnect

Originally published November 5, 2025. This version was rebuilt from NAR releases and company filings for the FIN archive, and the facts are as of that date.

Housing finally showed some life in the fall of 2025, and the furniture business had been waiting for that for a long time. The catch was who was buying. The people who furnish a house from scratch were a shrinking part of the market.

The short version

• Existing home sales rose in September and were up from a year earlier.
• First-time buyers fell to a record low share of all buyers, and their median age hit a record high.
• QVC and Sleep Number both reported sharp declines in home-related sales.

Home sales tick up

The National Association of Realtors reported existing home sales at an annual rate of 4.06 million in September, up 1.5% from August and 4.1% from a year earlier. Lower mortgage rates helped.

The first-time buyer keeps getting older

NAR's annual buyer profile found first-time buyers made up a record low 21% of purchases, and their median age rose to a record 40.

That is the number furniture should watch. A first home is when people buy a bedroom, a living room and a dining room in the same year. When those buyers are fewer and older, more of them already own furniture and replace it a piece at a time.

Home goods sellers shrink

QVC Group reported QxH revenue down 7%, with declines in every category, and Cornerstone revenue down 8% on softness in home and apparel. Cornerstone owns home brands such as Frontgate and Ballard Designs.

Sleep Number reported third-quarter net sales of $343 million, down 19.6%, on lower volume and fewer stores, and said it was executing a company-wide turnaround.

Where this left the industry in early November

More homes were selling, but the buyers who would fill them with new furniture were a smaller and older group. Companies selling premium or discretionary home goods were feeling it first.

Related on FIN

• Move-In Furniture Tickets Are Drying Up
• New Home Sales Jumped in August. Mortgage Rates Crossed 7%.

Sources

• National Association of Realtors, Existing-home sales for September 2025
• National Association of Realtors, 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers release
• QVC Group, Third quarter 2025 results, Exhibit 99.1
• Sleep Number, Third quarter 2025 results, Exhibit 99.1