A new normal is taking hold in homebuying. One generation is bucking the trend.

By Andy Medici

Most Americans are less interested in buying a home today than they were in the fall, with the exception of one generation.

A new survey from Realtor.com found 23% of millennials said they intended to buy a home in 2025, up from 15% in September. Millennials are the only generation that saw an increase in an intent to buy over that time period. Fourteen percent of Americans surveyed overall said they intended to buy a home in the next six months, while about 69% said they have no intention to purchase or sell their home in the next six months. 

Despite current market challenges and persistently high mortgage rates, millennials are showing a notable increase in homebuying interest this spring compared to last fall, said Laura Eddy, vice president of research and insights at Realtor.com, in a news release.

"Even though we found a change in millennial homebuying intent, the influence of mortgage rates cannot be overstated, with the vast majority of Americans, including millennials, prioritizing lower rates before committing to a purchase," she said. "The lock-in effect is still very much in effect."

Mortgage rates have hovered around 7% for much of the past year or more, after the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates in 2022 and some of 2023 before lowering them slightly last year. That means many current homeowners interested in selling their home and purchasing another one would have to take out a new mortgage with an interest rate far higher than their current one. The subsequent gap in monthly housing costs has essentially locked many owners into their current house. 

About one-third of surveyed respondents said they have put off buying a home because of mortgage rates — but that sentiment varies greatly by generation, too.

About 55% of Generation Z members surveyed by Realtor.com said they have delayed purchasing a home because of high mortgage rates — the highest of any generation. About 47% of millennials said they had delayed purchasing a home for the same reason. Meanwhile, 18% of baby boomers and 25% of Gen X members said they delayed buying a home because of mortgage rates.

Thirty-two percent of surveyed respondents said they would consider buying a home with a mortgage rate of more than 6%. Meanwhile, 51% said they would consider buying a home with a mortgage rate of under 4%, while another 12% would consider a rate under 5%. Baby boomers were the most likely generation to say mortgage rates won’t impact their decision to buy a home, at 41%.

While most survey respondents — 57% — said they have used personal savings to help them finance the purchase of a house, 12% said they relied on gifts or loans from family members. That share rises to 18% among Gen Zers surveyed and 15% of millennials.

Affordability hurdles push younger generations into different homebuying decisions

The growing divide over who can afford a home is weighing on younger Americans, too.

According to the BMO Real Financial Progress Index, 54% of U.S. renters say they envy people their age and younger who have purchased a home. It's a dynamic even stronger among Gen Zers, with 63% of those respondents saying they are envious of homeowners. The Gen Z share is second only to that of millennials, who are most likely to be envious, at 67%.

Those who are able to purchase a home often have to make sacrifices they later regret. Gen Z is nearly twice as likely as Gen X to have purchased a fixer-upper, with 36% of Gen Z homeowners saying their house was considered a fixer-upper when they bought it, according to a survey by ThisOldHouse.com. That makes them far more likely to own a fixer-upper than millennial, Gen X and baby boomer homeowners, according to the survey.

At 75%, Gen Z owners are also the most-likely generation to do some or all of their home projects themselves. But that's also left some with remorse, as 69% of Gen Z homeowners said they have regrets about the projects they have to take on, as well as underestimating the cost of routine maintenance and not budgeting enough for expected repairs. Twenty-one percent said they regret buying a home that was too old.

Older Americans continue to be those most likely to be able to afford higher payments and secure the financing needed to purchase a home. The median age of all homebuyers jumped to 56 last year, up from 49 in 2023, while the median age of repeat homebuyers grew from 58 in 2023 to 61 in 2024, according to the National Association of Realtors' 2024 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers.

First-time homebuyers are getting older, too, with the median age of those buying their first home rising to 38 in 2024, compared to 35 in 2023. Just 24% of homes sold in 2024 were purchased by first-time homebuyers, the lowest percentage since the NAR began collecting the data in 1981. Before the Great Recession, the share of first-time homebuyers hovered around 40%.

These developments have come as the price of a typical U.S. home has soared since the Covid-19 pandemic. In the second quarter of 2020, the median sale price for homes sold in the United States was $317,100, according to data compiled by the Federal Reserve. By the second quarter of 2022, that number was $437,700, up 38%. It dropped to $416,900 in the first quarter of 2025, but that's still up 31% from the early days of the pandemic five years ago.

Final Thoughts:

Despite overall buyer fatigue, millennials are bucking the trend with 23% planning to purchase a home in 2025, up from 15% last fall, according to Realtor.com. While most Americans are holding steady or stepping back from the housing market, millennials appear ready to move forward, suggesting this generation may shape the next wave of real estate activity. Their renewed interest could reflect changing life stages, rising incomes, or a bet on market conditions stabilizing next year.