Against the odds, Gen Z is breaking into the housing market

Despite daunting market conditions, America’s youngest generation of adults is managing to break into the housing market in growing numbers.

Despite daunting market conditions, America’s youngest generation of adults is managing to break into the housing market in growing numbers. Members of Generation Z, the cohort between the ages of 13 and 28, came of age during the economic upheaval of the Covid-19 pandemic. In the years since, home prices have surged and the nation’s housing shortage has deepened — conditions that risk leading some young adults to give up on the dream of homeownership altogether. Still, many in Gen Z are forging ahead with homeownership. The generation now accounts for one in four loans issued to first-time home buyers, according to data from financial services company Intercontinental Exchange. And a Redfin report from January 2024 found that Gen Z’s homeownership rate is outpacing that of Millennials and Gen Xers when they were the same age. There’s a growing divide within Gen Z between those with stable jobs or financial support who can afford to buy a home in today’s expensive market, and those who are priced out — not just of homeownership, but also the rental market, said Susan Wachter, a professor of real estate at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Wachter recently authored a study exploring why there has been a sizable uptick in the number of young adults living with their parents in recent years and found that affordable housing issues disproportionately impact minority groups. “There are difficulties and challenges to buying a home,” Wachter said. “Some of which are more burdensome than on previous generations.” Still, CNN spoke with several Gen Zers who recently bought homes and found that their paths to homeownership varied widely. Some received financial help from family, while others did it all on their own. Some carried student loan debt from four-year colleges, while others skipped college altogether.