A new report from Dublin, Ireland-based credit reporting firm Experian, one of three major consumer credit bureaus in the U.S. alongside TransUnion and Equifax, says around half of Gen Z and millennial renters who responded to a recent survey believe they will not be prepared to purchase a home until 2029.
Rapid home-price appreciation combined with higher mortgage rates has made purchasing a home unaffordable for many first-time homebuyers, who watched their purchase share of the single-family market fall to 24% in 2024 and 21% in 2025.
Record rent appreciation since 2020 has made saving for a downpayment more challenging for those envisioning a transition to buying.
Softening rent prices in 2025 have signaled the delayed emergence of easing shelter inflation, one of the slowest sectors to respond to the Federal Reserve’s multiyear fight to bring down inflation.
Nevertheless, real estate analytics firm Cotality reports that single-family rents in October were 29% higher since 2020, adding as much as $7,300 per year to average rent bills.
Experian’s report says renters rank financial support (61%), a clearer understanding of what they can qualify for (51%), and more financial knowledge about the mortgage process (38%) as the areas in which greater support would improve their feelings of preparedness.
Downpayment funds (67%), home prices (66%) and low credit scores (51%) were cited as the primary barriers to homeownership for current renters, with around 40% rating their “understanding of financial concepts tied to homeownership” as “fair” or below.
A desire to expand the universe of credit-qualifying consumer payments drives ongoing efforts at the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which regulates government-sponsored mortgage investors Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to increase competition across the credit scoring and reporting industries.
FHFA Director Bill Pulte has pushed for including rent payment histories in mortgage underwriting as an alternative form of credit verification.
In his July announcement that Fannie and Freddie would begin accepting the VantageScore 4.0 credit scoring model, Pulte touted the model’s incorporation of rent payment data, writing on social media, “If you’re likely to pay your rent, you’re likely to pay your mortgage.”
Experian, which jointly owns VantageScore along with fellow credit bureaus TransUnion and Equifax, said it is the first credit reporting agency to include rental payments in credit reports, along with other forms of “alternative data.”
A separate Experian report exploring U.S. rental market trends published over the summer indicated that 60% of renters in the U.S. have near prime or better credit scores, but 23% report having been denied a mortgage or rental application due to their credit score.
