The widespread milestones of the American dream as soon as got here in speedy succession. Couples would get married, purchase a residence, and have youngsters. But low stock, skyrocketing mortgage charges, and stagnating wage progress have scrambled these milestones for some.
The National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) 2026 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends Report, a survey of 6,103 major residence patrons from July 2025, discovered that many Gen Zers—which the NAR defines as these ages 18 to 26—are skipping the chapel and strolling straight into a realtor’s workplace. More than half of Gen Zers right now, 53%, are shopping for houses alone. That determine is greater than double the price at which millennials had been shopping for houses solo at the identical age. An NAR research from 2013, the first 12 months NAR launched their generational tendencies report, discovered that singles comprised simply 22% of homebuyers 32 and youthful. Out of these Gen Zers buying a residence, 35% are single women and 18% are single males.
“Gen Zers are absolutely crushing it when we think about singles purchasing homes in this housing market compared to millennials at the same age,” Jessica Lautz, deputy chief economist and vp of analysis at NAR, informed Fortune.
The development is the newest information level in the generational reinvention of the path to homeownership. A 2025 Coldwell Banker survey found a staggering 84% of Gen Zers say they’re delaying main life milestones, equivalent to marriage and even profession adjustments, simply to afford a residence. The age of the median first-time homebuyer hit an all-time excessive of 40 final 12 months, that means even the oldest Gen Zers are nonetheless over a decade away from reaching homeownership.
National Association of Realtors / 2026 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends
The big to make sure accompanying this information level is that, as many Gen Zers intention to make homebuying a actuality, they nonetheless make up a small share of the housing market. The era accounted for simply 4% of all patrons. And the report additionally discovered first-time homebuyers composed the smallest share ever recorded since NAR began amassing information in 1981. First-time patrons comprise nearly one in 5, or 21%, of homebuyers, down from 24% final 12 months.
How some Gen Zers afford a down fee
The housing market general right now is transferring at an more and more sluggish tempo. The spring shopping for season is often one among the hottest occasions for the market. But home sales fell 3.6% in March month over month as potential homebuyers wait on the sidelines for mortgage charges to fall and for affordability issues—partly pushed by higher-for-longer oil costs stemming from the Iran struggle—to chill down.
For these Gen Zers who’ve scored a pair of keys, many are taking nontraditional routes to a down fee. About 14% of homebuyers 18 to 26 have consulted a neighborhood or authorities down fee help program (DPAP). These monetary assist initiatives are often offered by state or native governments, nonprofits, or lenders and are designed to cowl the upfront prices of buying a residence, serving to low-income patrons get a foothold in the housing market. For comparability, the next-highest era to seek the advice of a DPAP for assist was younger millennials, ages 27 to 35, simply 4% of whom used that monetary lever.
About 13% of Gen Zers have obtained presents from family or mates. That’s lower than younger millennials, almost a quarter of whom obtained presents, and 13% of older millennials, 36- to 45-year-olds, did too. About one-fifth of Gen Z homebuyers used the proceeds from the sale of a major residence.
Whatever the journey, Lautz stated the various paths to homeownership level to the resilient perception in homebuying as a core tenet of the American dream. “I am encouraged that we are seeing them move into homeownership,” she stated. “I do think it speaks to the strength of homeownership being part of the American dream.”
