High home prices and elevated mortgage rates have made it increasingly difficult for Gen Z and millennials to buy homes. The median age of first-time U.S. home buyers has significantly jumped during the past decade. Because incomes have not kept pace with housing costs, many younger Americans are locked out of homeownership.
It’s become increasingly difficult in recent years for young home buyers to break into the housing market. Between comparatively high mortgage rates and skyrocketing home prices, the weight of buying a home feels insurmountable for Gen Z and millennials.
And it shows in the data: In 2025, the share of first-time home buyers plummeted to a record low of 21%, while the typical age of first-time buyers climbed to an all-time high of 40 years, according to a National Association of Realtors report released Tuesday.
“The historically low share of first-time buyers underscores the real-world consequences of a housing market starved for affordable inventory,” Jessica Lautz, NAR deputy chief economist and vice president of research, said in a statement. “The share of first-time buyers in the market has contracted by 50% since 2007—right before the Great Recession.”
According to a previous NAR report, the share of “older” baby boomer (1946-1954) home buyers was 22%, while the share of “younger” millennials (1990-1998) and Gen Zers (1999-2011) were just 14% and 5%, respectively. And as Jim Reid, head of global macro research at Deutsche Bank pointed out in a note this summer, 46% of homes purchased in 2024 were by those aged 60 and over.
