Homeownership rates for Gen Z members and millennials ticked up in 2025 as mortgage rates eased and inventory grew, though both cohorts continue to trail U.S. homeownership milestones set by Gen X and baby boomers at similar ages.
A Redfin analysis released Monday shows Gen Z homeownership reached 27.1% last year, while millennials hit 55.4%. Despite these gains, high housing costs and economic uncertainty remain significant barriers, keeping younger generations from matching the homeownership pace of their parents.
According to Redfin, the homeownership rate for Gen Z adults (ages 19 to 28) rose to 27.1% in 2025 from 26.1% the year prior. Millennials (ages 29 to 44) saw a modest increase to 55.4%, up from 54.9% in 2024.
By comparison, 72.7% Gen X members (ages 45 to 60) and 79.9% of baby boomers (ages 61 to 79) owned a home in 2025, with both percentages largely flat from the prior year.
Redfin Senior Economist Asad Khan attributed the gradual progress among younger homebuyers to their willingness to adapt rather than a sudden return to affordability.
“The reality is that with housing costs still historically high, many young Americans are making compromises on location, size or timing to get their foot in the homeownership door and start building equity,” Khan noted in the report. “Gen Zers and millennials are making small gains in homeownership because they’re eager to buy, they’re making sacrifices, and because affordability has improved a bit at the margins — not because homes suddenly became affordable.”
Economic conditions shifted slightly in favor of buyers in 2025. The weekly average mortgage rate fell to approximately 6.2% by year-end, down from 7% at the beginning of the year. While wages have increased and home price growth has slowed, median household income still lags nearly $25,000 behind the earnings required to purchase a median-priced home.
Despite these challenges, younger demographics captured a larger share of the market last year. Young adults between the ages of 19 and 29 purchased 18.5% of all homes sold in 2025, an increase from 14.4% the year prior. Homebuyers between the ages of 30 to 39 accounted for the largest share of purchases at 26%.
But while younger generations are making inroads, they remain behind the historical curve. Redfin’s analysis of census data highlights that 38.3% of 28-year-olds belonging to Generation Z were homeowners in 2025. Looking back at historical data, 42.5% of Gen X members and 44.4% of baby boomers were homeowners when they were 28 years old.
Similarly, 57.2% of 36-year-old millennials owned their home in 2025, compared to 61.2% of Gen Xers and 63.7% of baby boomers when they were 36.
