By Ashley LutzExecutive Director, Editorial GrowthDown Arrow Button IconBy Ashley LutzExecutive Director, Editorial GrowthDown Arrow Button IconSeptember 25, 2025, 11:35 AM ETThomas Barwick/Getty ImagesMillennials accounted for roughly half of 2024 mortgage applications across the 50 largest U.S. metros, and they led even in the priciest tech hubs, underscoring their role as the market’s most active buyer cohort despite affordability headwinds, according to new Realtor.com data.
Fortune’s recent coverage shows many younger buyers are “buying now, praying later,” leaning on adjusted-rate mortgages (ARMs) or refinancing—an approach experts warn could become a financial “ticking time bomb” if rates don’t fall meaningfully—highlighting risk beneath millennials’ apparent momentum.
What the new report says
Millennials (ages 28–43 in 2024) made 49.7% of mortgage inquiries in the 50 largest metros, down from 52.3% in 2023, with analysts attributing the dip to worsening affordability and rising Gen Z participation, not a millennial retreat.
Their share peaked in the nation’s most expensive tech markets—San Jose (62.6%), Seattle (57.1%), and San Francisco (56.9%)—where high salaries help offset steep prices and down payments, reinforcing a skills-and-income filter on who can buy in top metros.
