by BLACK ENTERPRISE Editors
Homeownership data over time show that it was more common for young people to own homes in the past.
38% of the oldest Gen Zers own their home, compared to 43% of their parents at the same age
Homeownership data over time shows that it was more common for young people to own homes in the past.
57% of mid-30s Americans own their home, compared to 64% of their parents at the same age
It’s worth noting that the oldest Gen Zers are making more progress than the younger ones. Just over 38% of 28-year-olds own their home, compared with 31.6% of 27-year-olds and 27.2% of 25-year-olds.
Why housing is still out of reach for many young buyers
Economic uncertainty has also caused many young Americans to delay homebuying plans, with concerns about job security and tariffs putting major purchases on hold.
“The reality is that with housing costs still historically high, many young Americans are making compromises on location, size, or timing to get their foot in the homeownership door and start building equity,” said Asad Khan, a senior economist at Redfin. “Gen Zers and millennials are making small gains in homeownership because they’re eager to buy, they’re making sacrifices, and because affordability has improved a bit at the margins—not because homes suddenly became affordable. We expect the slow progress to continue this year, with housing costs dipping slightly while wages rise.”
Homeownership for older generations is holding steady
For older generations, homeownership remains high and relatively stable.
Higher homeownership rates for older generations are to be expected, as they have had longer to amass money to buy homes, and many older Americans found it easier to buy homes because costs were lower in past decades.
20-somethings still took up a bigger piece of the homebuying pie in 2025
Methodology
For the section on home purchases by generation, please note that the word “purchase” refers to the number of household heads who reported moving to a new home in the past year and owning their new home, by age group. While the vast majority of those moves are the result of a home purchase, some are the result of an inheritance or other property transfer.
This story was produced by Redfin Real Estate and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
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Source: Black Enterprise
