Millennial homeowners and homebuyers: Stats, trends — and who’s buying?

There’s no question it takes plenty of muscle and money for first-time homebuyers to get into the real estate market. And it’s never been easy for millennial or gen Z homeowners to break in. The median age of the first-time homebuyer today is 40 — an all-time high. Since 2002, the average homebuyer is 33, compared to 29 back in 1980.

Average age of homebuyers in the US by generation

The average age of homebuyers in most generations rose year-over-year. Gen Z saw the largest increase, with the average age going up by 5% (21 years old in 2024 to 22 in 2025), while the average age of homebuyers in the silent generation remained flat at 81 years old.

Average age of homebuyers in the US

• Gen Z: 22 years old
• Millennials: 36 years old
• Gen X: 52 years old
• Baby boomers: 69 years old
• Silent generation: 81 years old

Year-over-year changes in homebuyers by generation

While still representing a relatively small percentage of homebuyers, gen Z saw the largest uptick, jumping from 3% to 4% of all homebuyers — an increase of 33%. At the other end of the spectrum (but not agewise) are millennials, who went from representing 29% of homebuyers in 2025 to 26% in 2026 — a 10% reduction year-over-year.

Zooming out

Two groups make up the biggest movers in terms of homebuyers since 2022: millennials and baby boomers. The number of baby boomer homebuyers has jumped significantly, from making up 29% of homebuyers in 2022 to 42% in 2026. Over that same timespan, millennials have gone from representing 43% of homebuyers to just 26%.

However, if we look at which generation saw the highest increase in the percentage of homeowners by generation, gen Z went from representing just 2% of homebuyers in 2022 to 4% in 2026 — a 100% increase. The second youngest generation, millennials, saw a drop of 40% over the same time and the only generation to see their number go down. Gen X saw a 14% jump in percentage of homebuyers over the last five years and boomers jumped 45%. The figure for the silent generation went unchanged, accounting for 4% of homebuyers from 2022-2026 (5% of buyers in 2021).

First-time buyer stats

First-time buyers made up 21% of buyers in 2026. Millennials had the largest portion of buyers who were buying a home for the first time at 47% compared to just 3% of those in the silent generation.

The number of first-time buyers is down across the board. The percentage of homebuyers buying a home for the first time dropped from 34% in 2022 to 21% in 2026 — a decrease of 38%. The silent generation sees the largest percentage change over that time, with the number of first-time homebuyers in that cohort dropping from representing 5% of home-buyers to 3% (a 40% reduction). In terms of percentage points, millennial first-time homebuyers went from representing 65% of homebuyers in 2022 to 47% in 2026 — a drop of 18 percentage points.

Buy a house now? The 4 questions to ask yourself

Home buying is a personal decision that comes down to your budget, debts and financial goals. Here are questions an aspiring millennial homeowner — or any homebuyer — can answer before shopping for your first home:

• Where do you want to live? Track average home prices in your target city and surrounding neighborhoods. And think about how long you plan to stay in one place — less than five years, and renting may be cheaper in the long run.
• How much house can you afford? Knowing your financial situation — including your budget, credit score and debt-to-income ratio — can help you narrow down whether homeownership is a realistic goal. A mortgage affordability calculator can help you estimate a comfortable mortgage against your budget.
• What kind of mortgage is right for you? If you can’t pay with cash, it’s helpful to know the types of mortgage loans available to find the best for your goals.
• Which lender is best for you? Compare the best mortgage lenders on the market for your specific home and budget.

An advantage of buying into the real estate market early is that you’re less burdened by expensive monthly rent, helping you to climb the real estate ladder sooner.

For all homebuyers, it’s good to plan ahead and save early. Whether for a down payment or to fix up a fixer-upper, it takes time to build a nest egg. Compare the best high-yield savings accounts to take advantage of high APYs and grow your savings faster.

• Methodology

  Finder reviewed and collated available data from the National Association of Realtors for this post. The reference years refer to when the report was published, which provides data for the year prior.

Written by

Richard Laycock

Editorial & PR Lead

Richard Laycock is Finder’s NYC-based lead editor & insights editor, spending the last decade data diving, writing and editing articles about all things personal finance. His musings can be found across the web including on NASDAQ, MoneyMag, Yahoo Finance and Travel Weekly. Richard studied Media at Macquarie University, including a semester abroad at The Missouri School of Journalism (MIZZOU). See full bio

Co-written by

Margaux Diaz

Content Marketing Specialist

Margaux Diaz is Content Marketing Specialist at Finder. She supports the SEO team in content promotion and partnership building in the US and Australia. Prior to joining Finder, she managed health promotion and other social development projects for the United Nations and consulted for private non-profits, and government agencies. She has also written for publications and blogs in the health and wellness, beauty, fitness, non-profits, business, and finance spaces. See full bio