Gen Z is jumping into the housing market wherever they can afford it
There’s a pretty strong correlation between lower house prices and higher Gen Z ownership... but even the competition for affordable housing is pushing prices up.
Record high housing costs and still-elevated mortgage rates have frozen some parts of the housing market. But younger generations haven’t given up on their homeowning dreams entirely — instead, Gen Z is just jumping in the housing market wherever they can afford to do so.
Reported by Axios over the weekend, Zoomers took up 13% of US’ home purchase applications in 2024, up from 10% the year before, according to new data from property information service CoreLogic. Indeed, Gen Z is buying homes in more affordable areas like the popular Midwest, where median house prices mostly lingered below $250,000 in 2024 compared to the national median of $332,000, while pricier coastal areas lagged behind in their share of Gen Z homebuyers.
It’s not just where the younger generation is buying that is interesting, but how: some aspiring homeowners are getting creative, like buying properties with friends or investing in homes that they will never live in.
But as the most affordable areas get more attention, they are also, invariably, becoming more expensive — the Midwest is home to three of the five metro areas where home prices are rising the fastest, per a new data analyzed by real estate brokerage Redfin. That includes a record 20% median home sale price jump in Milwaukee in the year ending this February, compared to a national average of 3.2%.
