Even as the Generation Z and Millennial cohorts age, homeownership rates among the two generations have stagnated. According to recent research from real estate marketing platform Redfin, 26.1% of Gen Zers owned their home in 2024, compared with 26.3% in 2023. Additionally, 54.9% of Millennials owned their home last year, barely changed from 2023, when it was 54.8% of Millennials. Apart from 2024, both generations had seen homeownership rates increase each year since they entered adulthood.
Older generations also saw homeownership rates grow slightly, but small increases are more common among older generations. Gen Xers saw their homeownership grow from 72% to 72.9%, and Baby Boomers saw the homeownership rate increase from 78.8% to 79.6%.
Mortgage rates started rising rapidly in 2022 after several years of record lows: Weekly average rates went from around 3% at the start of 2022 to 7% by the end of the year, and they’ve remained elevated between 6% and 7% since then. High mortgage rates were exacerbated by the fact that low inventory kept home prices stubbornly high in many parts of the country. By spring 2024, the typical homebuyer was paying roughly $2,800 per month, an all-time high.
And even though average wages have increased in recent years, too, they haven’t risen as fast as housing costs, pricing many people out of homeownership. High housing costs are a bigger obstacle for young people than older people because they’re less likely to already own a home, meaning they can’t use equity to purchase their next house. Read more