Home buyers are adjusting to make the numbers work
Cotality research found buyers are changing budgets, loan sizes and home searches to make purchases work, with younger buyers particularly willing to make trade-offs.
Home buyers waiting for mortgage rates to drop aren’t just waiting anymore. Instead, many are adjusting their budgets, loan plans and home searches to make a purchase work.
Recent research from Cotality found some buyers are considering smaller loans or less expensive homes. Others are cutting spending elsewhere or changing how much cash they put toward a purchase. Cotality found the U.S. fell roughly in the middle of the five countries surveyed when it came to buyers' willingness to make those trade-offs.
Location can also become part of the affordability calculation. Across the full survey, 28% of recent buyers said they moved to a different area in search of more affordable housing.
Cotality also found Gen Z buyers were more likely than older generations to consider changing spending, loan size or home size. One recent U.S. Gen Z buyer told researchers that putting more money down helped bring the monthly payment closer to what the buyer could afford.
Millennials, meanwhile, continue to buy even in a higher-rate market. Cotality said U.S. lenders made 3.1% more loans to millennials in 2025 than in 2023, despite mortgage rates starting 2025 higher than they did two years earlier.
Life changes can be just as important as rates. Cotality found recent buyers were more likely to say events such as a new job or growing family pushed them into the market, while prospective buyers were more likely to identify a particular mortgage rate as the signal that would prompt them to move forward.
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