Approximately 32.6% to 33% of 27-year-olds in the U.S. own their home as of 2024-2025. While younger, this generation is slightly ahead of millennials (28%) and Gen Xers (27%) when they were the same age. Overall, about 26% of Gen Zers (19–27 years old) owned their home in 2024.
Half of Americans say there is no best age for purchasing a home. But among those who did give a number, the average age was 28.8. Those who are homeowners themselves recommend a slightly younger age (28.4) on average, compared with renters (30.0). For many Americans, though, buying a home comes later in adulthood.
A LendingTree study of anonymized credit reports of users on our platform finds that only 3.1% of Americans younger than 30 have a mortgage in the 50 largest U.S. metros.
In 2022, 30% of 25-year-olds owned a home. At the same age 28% of millennials, and 27% of Gen Xers owned homes, according to real estate brokerage, Redfin.
Gen Z and millennial men in the United States are more likely to live with their parents than women in the same age group. In 2023, approximately 11 percent of women aged 25 to 34 lived in their parents' home, compared to almost 19 percent of men.
33% of the Oldest Gen Zers Own Their Home, Compared to Roughly 40% of Their Parents at the Same Age. We also took a look at homeownership data over time, which reveals that it was more common for young people to own homes in the past.
Buying a house in your 30s can be a strategic step toward long-term financial security and establishing roots. This phase of life often brings increased career stability and financial growth, making it an ideal time to invest in homeownership.
The average age to buy a house, especially for first-time buyers, has been rising, hitting a median of around 38 to 40 years old in recent reports (2024/2025), a significant increase from past decades, while the median age for all homebuyers (including repeat buyers) has climbed even higher, nearing 59 years old in some analyses, largely due to affordability challenges and structural market shifts.
About one-third of adult Gen Z-ers (those 18 to 28 years old) are open to pooling funds and purchasing a home with friends or family, according to the 2025 home-buyer report from National MI, a private mortgage insurance company, and FirstHome IQ, a nonprofit focused on financial literacy and home-buyer education.
The proportion of 25 to 34-year-olds still living with their parents has increased by more than a third in nearly two decades, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). The living at home trend has been driven by men, and those in their late 20s, researchers found.
The bottom line. Almost one third of adults aged 18-34 live at home; for some, that's not likely to change anytime soon: 41% of adult Gen Z respondents believe they will continue to live with family members for at least another two years.
Only 32.6% of today's 27-year-olds own a home 🤯💵
According to the study, about half (51%) of Gen Z surveyed say the high cost of living is a barrier to financial success. Total monthly spending is higher than they thought it would be for 35%, especially for everyday expenses including groceries (63%), rent and utilities (47%) and dining out (42%).
The 30/30/3 rule is a conservative guideline for home buying: save 30% of the home's value for a down payment and buffer, keep your total monthly housing costs (PITI) under 30% of your gross monthly income, and ensure the total home price isn't more than 3 times your annual gross income to build financial resilience and avoid overextending yourself. It's designed to create financial breathing room for emergencies and other goals, preventing the pitfalls seen during the 2008 crisis.
With a $150,000 salary, you could afford a home priced around $415,000-$430,000, assuming you have $20,000 saved up for a down payment and are carrying some monthly debt already, such as a car payment or student loan. This also assumes an interest rate of 7%.
To afford a $700,000 house, you generally need an annual income between $180,000 to $235,000, depending on interest rates, down payment, and existing debts, with lenders often using the 28/36 rule (housing costs under 28% of gross income, total debt under 36%) to assess affordability. A 20% down payment ($140,000) is common, reducing your loan, but taxes, insurance, and other expenses add to the total monthly cost.