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 2024, there were more home buyers over the age of 70 in the U.S. than under the age of 35, data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) shows.
That’s not a great omen for the American dream, which has long been regarded as owning a home. It’s typically the largest asset a person will buy in their lifetime and home equity can serve as a nice nest egg for future home purchases or cashing out after a sale.
“Over the long run, property is an asset that ultimately gets redistributed from one generation to the next,” Reid wrote.
But many members of the younger generations don’t have that opportunity.
“Right now, that handoff is being stalled by high interest rates and elevated home prices,” Reid added. “At some point, either—or both—will have to adjust, or real wages for younger people will need to rise sharply.”
The income needed to buy a home in the U.S. “remains significantly higher than before the [COVID-19] pandemic, underscoring the ongoing challenge of affordability even as market conditions gradually rebalance,” Realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale said in a statement.
While housing market conditions are grim for Gen Z and millennials, they’ll eventually break into the housing market, Reid suggested.
“Eventually, the younger generation will own the homes currently held by the older generation,” he wrote. “We just don’t yet know what the price will be.”
