Millennial homeownership split widens as younger adults double up
New housing research shows under-35 ownership is lower than common measures suggest, while older millennials trade up.
By Hana Yoshida · Markets Reporter
4 min read
A millennial homeownership split is widening, with older millennials increasingly resembling established homeowners while younger adults are more likely to share housing or live with family. The divide matters because it shows how one generational label can hide sharply different housing outcomes.
Jessica Lautz, deputy chief economist at the National Association of Realtors, told Fortune that NAR now separates millennials into two groups, ages 36 to 45 and ages 27 to 35, because their housing data no longer tells one consistent story. She described the gap as a structural issue, with older millennials more likely to own and build equity while younger millennials face higher barriers to buying.
Researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, led by Erik Hembre, recently found that the under-35 homeownership rate looks much lower when measured by whether a young adult owns the home they live in. By that measure, the rate is closer to 22%, rather than the more commonly cited 37% based on household heads.
Why are younger millennials living with parents?
Younger adults are sharing homes more often because housing costs, rents and debt have made independent ownership harder to reach, according to housing researchers cited by Fortune. Lautz said the Minneapolis Fed’s work captures a shift in who is actually living in a household, not just who owns the property.
NAR data shows older millennials have become a major buyer group. Their median household income is $132,700, they buy homes with a median size of 2,100 square feet, and only 33% are first-time buyers, meaning many already own homes and can use equity to move up.
Younger millennials are buying smaller homes, with a median size of 1,600 square feet, according to NAR. Their median down payment is 9%, compared with 13% for older millennials, 19% for Gen X and at least 26% for boomers. Among younger millennials who had trouble saving, 44% cited student loans, 42% cited high rent and 30% cited credit card debt as delaying a purchase.
How multigenerational housing fits the trend
Lautz told Fortune that families tend to double up during periods when housing is less affordable, including after the 2008 housing bust. She said today’s pattern resembles an older way of living, closer to the early 1900s, when the cost and availability of housing pushed more families under one roof.
NAR data shows Gen X buyers purchase multigenerational homes at the highest rate, at 19%, compared with 9% for younger millennials. Fortune reported that the Minneapolis Fed research helps explain that gap: younger adults may live in multigenerational households without being the buyer. When younger millennials do buy such homes, 55% cite cost savings as the reason, more than any other generation.
Realtor.com research found that a record 25.2 million adults under 35 lived with their parents in 2025, nearly one in three and above the pandemic-era peak. Fortune reported that roughly 70% of those adults are employed, and many have college degrees.
Realtor.com tied the pressure to a national median home listing price of $430,000, 34.4% higher than in 2019, and asking rents nearly 18% above pre-pandemic levels. Pew Research previously found that in 2014, adults ages 18 to 34 were more likely to live with a parent than with a spouse or partner in their own household for the first time in more than 130 years.
What older owners are doing
The shift is also shaped by older homeowners staying put. Lautz told Fortune that boomers between 61 and 70 sell a median 2,000-square-foot home and buy another 2,000-square-foot home, while those 71 to 79 downsize by only 100 square feet. Meaningful downsizing appears mainly among sellers 80 and older, who give up a median 300 square feet.
Lautz said some boomers want to keep space for family and belongings, while longer lifespans, later retirement and the cost of retirement homes also affect their decisions. She also said some older homeowners are buying multigenerational homes after recognizing affordability problems facing their children and grandchildren.
Lautz told Fortune that Gen Z’s homeownership rate is slightly ahead of millennials at the same age, partly because of stronger use of government homebuying assistance programs. She cautioned that building more smaller, affordable homes could take about a decade, and that larger homes freed by aging boomers will not solve the shortage by themselves.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.