Despite steep prices and a tight market that pushed the average first-time buyer age toward 40, a growing slice of Gen Z—people in their 20s—are becoming homeowners. They remain a small share of buyers overall, but their numbers are rising and their strategies differ from previous generations.
Take 27-year-old Francisco Vazquez of Milwaukee. He bought a yellow three-bedroom house with a basement, garage and yard for about $220,000 — a price that is far below the national median. Vazquez grew up in a low-income household and studied conservation science on scholarship, then worked in Texas helping rescue and care for animals. Those jobs were rewarding but poorly paid, so after moving back home to Wisconsin he shifted career tracks, landing a management job at a fast-food restaurant that offered better pay and benefits. He was promoted twice.
Vazquez lived rent-free with his parents for a year and kept expenses minimal. For roughly two years he stashed a large portion of his pay—about 70%—into broad index investments and other savings, even while dating. The result: in just over two years he built about $72,000 in savings, put down a large down payment, and took out a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage. He’s already sanding floors and fixing up the place, and says buying a house is part of a plan to gain financial freedom and pursue early retirement.
Stories like Vazquez’s illustrate several trends researchers and realtors are noticing among young buyers. The National Association of Realtors recently reported that Gen Z made up about 4% of homebuyers last year (using an 18–26 definition), up from 3% the year before. Their reported average household income is around $76,000. Gen Z buyers are more likely than millennials were at the same age to purchase on their own, and a substantial share are single, particularly women.
Some of the differences reflect lessons learned by watching millennials struggle. National Association of Realtors’ deputy chief economist Jessica Lautz says Gen Z has access to more financial information via social media and online communities, and many are leveraging that knowledge for planning. They are also using government down-payment assistance programs at higher rates than other generations and appear more cautious about student debt, which has historically stymied many millennials trying to buy.
Still, the odds are stacked against young buyers. A persistent shortage of homes at affordable price points has driven housing costs up faster than wages in many areas. Starter homes have become scarce in many markets, and recent construction has often focused on higher-priced units. For most Americans in expensive cities, homeownership is still out of reach.
Geography matters. Smaller and mid-sized cities with lower home prices—places like Milwaukee and Pittsburgh—have been especially attractive to Gen Z buyers. Joanna Belechak, 25, lives in a beige brick townhouse in Pittsburgh. She saved by living at home while she completed college and landed a paid internship that turned into a marketing job. After graduating she lived rent-free for about 18 months in a property owned by her parents; they also helped with the down payment. Joanna is the only person on her mortgage and handles the payments herself. She says owning the home feels empowering, though she admits it can be unnerving to be the sole person responsible when something breaks. Many of her peers who live in more expensive metros think it’s “crazy” that she was able to buy.
Gen Z buyers are also more independent in the sources of their down payments. While about 16% of Gen Z buyers received a gift or loan from parents—less than the share for young millennials and below the longer-term average of roughly 25%—some are tapping retirement accounts or employer plans to help cover costs, a tactic enabled by the fact that many are starting retirement savings earlier. That willingness to borrow from or use retirement funds for home purchases can be controversial, but it reflects the different trade-offs this generation is making.
Another notable shift: single buyers account for a larger share of Gen Z purchases than they did for millennials at the same age. Delays in marriage and forming long-term partnerships after the pandemic may be one factor, Lautz says, and the result is more solo buyers—especially single women. In fact, about 35% of buyers in their 20s were single women in the recent data, a higher share than any other generation.
Mortgage professionals and advocates who work with women homebuyers see that trend firsthand. Many young women still question whether they can buy alone; some professionals encourage them to keep saving, pursue raises, or take on side work to increase income and qualify for better loan terms. Observers also point out how recent history shaped opportunities: legal and social barriers that once limited women’s ability to hold mortgages independently eased in the 1970s, and today many young women are taking advantage of those rights to build independent wealth.
Despite the encouraging stories, both Vazquez and Belechak acknowledge that timing and luck played roles. Joanna says she might not have tried to buy under today’s cost pressures and worries about job security and the economy. Vazquez credits a combination of living rent-free, choosing a higher-paying job, and strict saving for making homeownership possible for him.
What these buyers share is a mix of discipline, strategy and, often, parental help or geographic choice that put them in markets where ownership was feasible. For many Gen Zers, buying now is not just about having a place to live—it’s a calculated step toward financial stability and long-term goals.
Still, the broader picture remains challenging: limited supply, high prices and uneven wages leave many young adults priced out of ownership in big coastal cities. The growing presence of Gen Z homeowners shows that some younger buyers can and do break through those barriers, but it’s also a reminder that where you live, how you save, and what kind of help you can access make a huge difference.