Gen Z is on track to owning more homes than Millennials and the Gen Xers. Thirty percent of Zoomers owned their own homes in 2022, compared to 27% of the Gen Xers and 28% of Millennials when they were 25. Millennials are behind older generations, with 62% of 40-year-olds owning their own homes in 2022, falling short of the 69% of Baby Boomers when they were that age. Rhode Island is a state where some people saw an opportunity during the pandemic, as ownership rates sharply increased.
Location
Millennials tend to search for homes in major cities, whereas Gen Z finds better deals in surrounding cities. Real estate in major cities may be more suitable as investment properties. If you’re looking for a home to live in, you might want to consider a smaller city with lower home prices.
Pandemic opportunities
Mortgage rates dropped during the first two years of the pandemic. This is one of the contributing factors to the higher rate of new homeowners from Gen Z. Unfortunately, home prices have gone up more than 30% after the initial pandemic opportunity has passed. This will make buying homes more difficult for Gen Z and Millennials.
Portion of income
A lot of people claim that Gen Z can’t buy their own homes because it’s more expensive than it was for older generations. However, Gen Z has spent the same portion of their income on buying a house that people did three decades ago. They are also slightly ahead of Millennials and Gen X. Baby Boomers didn’t own significantly more homes at age 25 either. Thirty-two percent of Baby Boomers bought their first home by 25.
The trend could change
Interest rate hikes might cause a recession, making it more challenging for Gen Z and Millennials to become homeowners. Other contributing factors are limited supply, rising costs and student debt. Gen Z has more student debt than Millennials.
A good portion of Zoomers were able to take advantage of low home prices and mortgages in 2020 and 2021, which has set them on a trajectory that could result in higher rates of ownership than Millennials and the Gen Xers.