More Gen Zers own homes at 25 than millennials, Gen Xers did at same age (2024)

SEATTLE (KOMO) — Almost one-third of 25-year-olds in the United States owned their home in 2022, edging out their millennial and Gen X counterparts, according to a new report from Redfin.

Homeownership rates among millennials (28%) and Gen Xers (27%) when they were 25 registers lower than Gen Z (30%), according to the Seattle-based real estate brokerage, which said 32% of baby boomers owned their home at 25. Gen Z is comprised of people born between 1997 and 2012.

Many Gen Zers took advantage of the historically-low mortgage rates during the COVID-19 pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, Redfin noted. Rates have doubled since then, however.

Those who didn’t buy homes during that period may struggle to break into the market now that housing costs have shot up, and the economy is showing signs of slowing," Redfin said in its report.

Redfin's report is based on national data. A 25-year-old's median monthly mortgage payment in 2021 was $1,013, which is 16% of their $74,900 median income, Redfin reported. In 1990, the median monthly payment was $904, which was also 16% of the $69,419 median income, which Redfin adjusted for inflation.

In Seattle, the median sales price of a home dropped 13.5% from a year ago to $768,832, according to Redfin's stats. Millennials bought more than 40% of the Seattle homes in 2022, Redfin said.

Millennials are tracking behind their parents in homeownership rates, Redfin said, as 62% of 40-year-olds owned their home in 2022, which is far less than the baby boomers' rate of 69% at the same age. About 60% of homes purchased over the past several years were bought by people 25-44 years old, Redfin reported.

Gen Z bought 9% of homes in Virginia Beach in 2022, Redfin noted.

The rising tide lifted Gen Z homebuyers in 2020 and 2021; they were part of the pandemic-driven homebuying frenzy,” Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather said in a statement.

“Record-low mortgage rates, remote work providing freedom to move somewhere more affordable and skyrocketing rental costs motivated some Gen Zers to break into the housing market. While the oldest of their generation had just graduated college when the pandemic started and hadn’t started building up their bank accounts, they had some financial advantages.

"The unemployment rate was near record lows in late 2021 and 2022, with pandemic-related labor shortages in industries that attract young workers like hospitality and retail prompting those employers to boost pay. Government stimulus payments, the pause on student loan repayments and the fact that many young adults lived with family during the lockdowns also helped Gen Zers save money.”