Why Gen Z Isn’t Buying Homes Yet
Gen Z makes up just 3% of buyers as debt, high costs and short-term money habits delay homeownership, even among high earners, data shows.
NEW YORK — Gen Z buyers make up 3% of all buyers, compared with 42% of buyers from the Baby Boomer generation in 2025, the National Association of Realtors® said. While high house prices and interest rates may be partly to blame for younger buyers standing on the sidelines of the housing market, some suggest that money management may be playing a role as well in their home buying decisions.
According to PYMNTS Intelligence, Gen Z's top financial priority is paying down debt, with the average Gen Z adult carrying $94,101 in personal debt, a significant portion of which is on credit cards.
Having large sums of income tied up with monthly payments has even high-earning Gen Z adults unable to save for a down payment on a home.
Hannah Jones, senior economic research analyst at Realtor.com, said, "Though Gen Z Americans may dream of homeownership, still-high housing costs mean that stepping onto the property ladder may not be possible at this point in time. By prioritizing paying off debt, Gen Z prospective buyers are setting themselves up for success when homeownership does become more feasible."
According to PYMNTS, there are two types of money management mindsets: Reactors and planners.
About 73% of Gen Z adults are reactors, meaning they live paycheck to paycheck, carry high-interest debt and struggle to build savings – a money management style that makes it harder to save money toward larger purchases, such as buying a house.
The number of wealthier adults who identify as planners, those who save and plan out purchases, has declined by 25%. About 52% of top earners are reactors who are focused on short-term financial thinking and chasing growth.
Twenty-two percent of Baby Boomers see retirement saving as a top priority, while 7.7% of Gen Z say the same. The number of Gen Z adults who have starting a business as their No. 1 goal reached about 7%, making them eight times more likely than Baby Boomers to focus on entrepreneurship.
Today's buyers need to earn 70% more than they did six years ago to buy a home.
Source: Realtor.com (06/09/25) Conte, Allaire
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