Millennial Homebuyers’ Share Continues to Rise in 2022 (2024)

FAQs

Is millennial home ownership finally on the rise? ›

Millennials have finally reached a significant milestone as more than 50 percent of millennials now own their homes, according to the latest data from the Census Bureau, Apartment List writes in the fourth installment of their annual Apartment List Millennial Homeownership Report.

Millennials are tracking behind their parents: 62% of 40-year-olds owned their home in 2022, lower than the 69% rate for baby boomers at the same age. Millennials buy more homes than other generations, with 25-44 year olds buying roughly 60% of homes that sold over the last several years.

While Gen Z is ahead of their parents' generation, Millennials are still tracking behind—62% of 40-year-old Millennials owned a home in 2022 compared with the 69% homeownership rate for Baby Boomers at that age.

They had the highest median household income of any generation ($114,300), followed by older millennials ($102,900). In addition to leading the way in home buying, baby boomers remained the largest home seller generation, jumping from 42% in 2021 to 52% in 2022.

One reason millennials aren't buying houses is simply because the money just isn't there and the rates are just too high. According to Daniel Pitner, a real estate agent out of Glendale, Arizona, “The current interest rate environment has made homeownership extremely expensive on a monthly basis.

Millennials, aged 27 to 42, make up the biggest group citing affordability as one of the key issues that's preventing them from buying a home. Older millennials, between 34 and 42, were the biggest group that cited the inability to afford the down payment or closing costs as a major reason why they don't own a home.

Generation X made up 24% of total buyers. They had the highest median household income of any generation ($114,300), followed by older millennials ($102,900). In addition to leading the way in home buying, baby boomers remained the largest home seller generation, jumping from 42% in 2021 to 52% in 2022.

The 2023 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends report found that the boomer generation had a 39% share of home purchases in 2022, while millennials had 28%. It's a fairly dramatic change compared to 2021, when millennials had a 43% share compared to the boomers' 28%.

Key Takeaways

Technology plays a big part in millennial house-hunting, with this generation turning to mobile devices to search, view properties, and communicate with real estate agents. With fewer starter homes available, millennials are increasingly buying nicer first homes than previous generations did.

According to our research, millennials are the most educated generation in American history. Approximately 38 percent of millennials have a bachelor's degree or higher, compared with 32 percent of Generation X and 15 percent of baby boomers when they were the same age.

Are millennials buying smaller homes? ›

While 28% of those millennials are delaying their buying plans, the remainder say they're responding by saving more money for the purchase (59%), spending more than expected (36%), buying a fixer-upper (26%) and buying a smaller home (25%).

Of Gen Zers currently saving money, 56.2% are saving for their first home. The majority of Gen Z (79.8%) believe they can only afford a home that costs less than $200,000. Only 6.9% of Gen Zers believe they can afford a home over $500,000 in their desired timeframe.

Baby boomers (born 1946 to 1964), still own the most homes, about 32 million, but lost around 350,000 homeowners during the same time period. Gen Z (born 1997 to 2013) made the smallest gains in homeownership over five years, just 1.6 million, for a total of about 2 million homeowner households.

From now until 2030, 10,000 Baby Boomers each day will hit retirement age. Millions will begin to officially retire, collect Social Security checks and sign up for Medicare. Other Boomers will keep on working either out of financial necessity or out of some less tangible need like identity and self-worth.

All boomers and 1 in 5 U.S. residents will have reached 'retirement age' As the population ages, the ratio of 65-plus residents to working-age adults is expected to rise. By 2030, the United States for the first time will have more 65-and-older residents than children, the Census Bureau projected this week.

The majority of millennials likely grew up with smart technology and are looking for homes that come with smart features such as smart locks, home security, automatic lighting, and Nest thermostats. They want to be able to control their heating and cooling system, as well as appliances, with an app. Updated kitchen.

Millennials make up the largest share of potential homebuyers in San Jose, Calif., Denver and Boston. In San Jose, 63.57% of mortgages were offered to millennials. In Denver and Boston, the figures were 61.35% and 60.59%, respectively.

Millennials likely will start to enter retirement around 2050. When they do, what can they expect? For starters, they can expect to receive Social Security, albeit with slightly fewer benefits. Changing the retirement age to 69 would reduce their lifetime benefits by approximately 7.5%.

Gen Y: Gen Y, or Millennials, were born between 1981 and 1994/6. They are currently between 25 and 40 years old (72.1 million in the U.S.) Gen Y.

While those born between 1981 and 1996 are within traditional home-buying ages, factors such as higher education levels, increased rent prices, and more densely packed cities have all contributed to the slower rate of home purchases for this generation.

Will Gen Z be able to retire? ›

The youngest members of the workforce aren't planning to stay as long as previous generations stayed in the working world. Gen Zers, defined as Americans between 18 and 25, aim to retire by 59 on average, according to Northwestern Mutual's 2022 Planning and Progress study.

Baby Boomers: Born 1946-1964 (59-77 years old) Gen X: Born 1965-1980 (43-58 years old) Millennials: Born 1981-1996 (27-42 years old) Gen Z: Born 1997-2012 (11-26 years old)

A survey from Bank of America shows that 67% of millennials – also known as Gen Y – are “likely” to buy a house in the next two years. Gen Z, which tops out at age 25, is set on it, too. In fact, nearly 9 in 10 say they'd like to own a home in the future.

A recent study from apartment search website and research blog RentCafe reveals that the generation transitioned from renter to owner, with 52% of millennials, born between 1981 and 1996, owning a home in 2022.

Baby boomers have the highest household net worth of any US generation. Defined by the Federal Reserve as being born between 1946 and 1964 (currently in the ages between 59 and 77), baby boomers are in often in the sunset of their career or early into retirement.

Compared with these generations, millennials have more debt, a lower net worth, and a worse chance of making more than their parents. Those factors, particularly the rise in student debt, have prevented millennials from getting a home.

RentCafe found nearly 52% of millennial households – which includes groups of people living together under one roof – owned a home in 2022 based on data looking at owner and renter households across 260 U.S. metropolitan areas.

Most millennials grew up with technology and, as adults, want a home with smart features like Nest thermostats, smart locks, home security (with video surveillance), and automatic lighting. They want to control things like their heating and cooling system and appliances from an app.

Most millennials believe property provides a better return than the stock market. Many of them were looking for their first job during the 2008 recession and had trouble finding work. After this experience, they became skeptical about purchasing stock.

According to the Pew Research Center, Gen Z is the least likely to drop out of high school and the most likely to go to college, compared with older generations.

Where do the most educated Millennials live? ›

States that house the most educated millennials are largely located in the Northeast and on the Eastern seaboard, led by Massachusetts, where 51 percent of millennials hold college degrees. The highly ranked states outside of this region include Minnesota, Illinois, and Colorado.

Here's what millennial homeowners report regretting when buying their first home: Paying too high of an interest rate (22%) Not being educated about homebuying (21%) Buying a home in a neighborhood that changed too much (21%)

Baby boomers also have been motivated to downsize and move closer to family. Baby boomers—people ages 58 to 76—accounted for 53% of sellers and 39% of buyers between July 2021 and June 2022, the most of any generation, NAR's report shows.

In 2022, the average age of first-time homebuyers was 36, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). This is up from 33 in 2021. A more notable stat, however, is that only 26% of homebuyers in 2022 were first-time homebuyers — the lowest percentage since the NAR started tracking the metric.

The typical annual salary for Generation Z workers was $32,500 in 2021, according to recent research by GoBankingRates.

Financial Companies Are Encouraging Gen Z To Pay Rent With Their Credit Cards. Though many Gen Z adults still prefer other forms of payment over credit cards, companies are launching new credit card programs that incentivize young people to use credit cards for their rent and other large expenses.

The Association of Poinciana Villages, the largest Homeowner Association in the United States, is launching its newest amenity: Poinciana Digital Village.

Leading apartment owners in the U.S. 2022, by units owned

Starwood Capital Group, which was the largest owner in 2022 with 115,000 units, is a private investment firm headquartered in Miami, Florida.

“A monthly mortgage payment is often considered a forced savings account that helps homeowners build a net worth about 40 times higher than that of a renter.” Along with these wealth gains, homeowners also saw their debt drop by 21% over the last decade, the report shows.

What age will most Millennials retire? ›

More from Personal Finance:

Other research has found millennials are aiming even earlier: Most hope to retire at 59, even though 3 out of 4 aren't confident that will be possible, according to a separate report by Alto Solutions.

At the current trajectory, it appears very likely that the Social Security trust fund could run out of money in or around 2033. But that doesn't mean it will. Lawmakers could make a number of changes that would shore up the trust fund and put it in financial health for 75 years, according to Goss and Glenn.

The median baby boomer household isn't doing much better, with $134,000 in retirement savings in 2019, the most recent federal data. That's about one-third of the average retirement savings in that age group, $408,420, a figure inflated by the super-rich.

Compared to the 70-year life expectancy of baby boomers and the 85-year life expectancy of Gen X, Gen Z is predicted to have a life expectancy of over 100 years. Major factors contributing to the same are improvements in the standard of living, medical progress, and health consciousness.

What wasn't foreseen was how long Baby Boomers would live. When the first Boomers were born, the average life expectancy was 63 years old. Today, Boomers can expect to live to almost 79 years.

What to expect: As we continue to age, we may be concerned about losing cognitive function. It may be harder to learn new tasks, recall information or keep track of everyday household items. That's normal as our brain grows older. The brain changes caused by Alzheimer's disease, however, are not a normal part of aging.

RentCafe chalked it up to a matter of “comfort and smart investing.” Owning a home can come with more than its fair share of maintenance and costly repairs and upkeep. Then there's the flexibility renting offers one to move from city to city for career opportunities.

77% of the people in the US prefer to rent instead of buying a home. The average gross rent was $1,164 in 2019. Rent prices nationwide increased by almost 50% from 2007 to 2017. 127 working hours is the weekly requirement for minimum wage earners to afford the average apartment.

In San Jose, Denver and Boston — millennials make up the largest share of buyers, with more than 60% of mortgage offers. In the sunny climes of Las Vegas, Birmingham, and Phoenix, meanwhile, they make up the smallest share — with about 45% of mortgage offers.

Poverty remains pervasive. Millennials were more likely to be living in poverty than Gen-Xers and Baby Boomers at similar ages, with one in five Millennials officially classified as poor. 27 From 1979 to 2014, the poverty rate among young workers with only a high school diploma more than tripled to 22 percent.

Where do the majority of millennials live? ›

Baby boomers have the highest household net worth of any US generation. Defined by the Federal Reserve as being born between 1946 and 1964 (currently in the ages between 59 and 77), baby boomers are in often in the sunset of their career or early into retirement.