The National Association of Realtors®’ (NAR) 2026 Generational Trends Report found that Gen Z—though still a fraction of the overall market—is “reshaping homeownership,” even as baby boomers remain overrepresented amid affordability challenges.
Those challenges have also shrunk first-time buyer share to historically low levels. The report found that out of all buyers, only 21% were first-time homebuyers, compared to 24% last year.
This is also the lowest number of first-time homebuyers since NAR began collecting this data in 1981. Younger generations continue to make up the majority of first-time homebuyers; 60% of younger millennials were first-time homebuyers, 55% of Gen Z were and 33% of older millennials were.
The share of millennials among buyers was in general slightly down from the previous year, dropping from 29% of buyers to 26%. NAR Deputy Chief Economist Jessica Lautz told RISMedia that the drop in millennials and first-time homebuyers are linked trends.
“(The drop in millennial buyers is) really a reflection of the drop in first-time homebuyers in the last year that we’ve seen,” she said. “When they do come into the market, they’re doing so to a large extent with the support of their family. So either living at home first or having job payment assistance, and that continues to be a generational transfer of wealth. And those parents and family members may have earned that in a healthy market as well.”
Meanwhile, boomers make up not just 42% of buyers, but also 55% of sellers. Gen X trails behind, making up 25% of buyers, but the median home-buying age of 54 shows a market that is still driven by those two generations. When asked about the primary takeaway of the report, Lautz answered “that baby boomers continue to pull the purse strings of the real estate market.”
“We know that (boomers) are gaining a tremendous amount of housing equity as home prices continue to grow,” Lautz continues. “And so they’re the ones who are able to make housing trades. And these are optional trades. They are not moving for a new job, they’re moving for retirement and to be close to the grand baby.”
Gen Z accounted for only 4% of buyers and 2% of sellers. “They are entering homeownership with the lowest household incomes and are unlikely to be married yet or to have children under 18 living in their home,” the report read, noting that a majority of home-buying Gen Zers are pursuing homeownership out of the simple desire to own a home rather than life events such as marriage. Conversely, buyers aged 45 or higher were looking to downsize or be closer to friends and family.
“While we are seeing (Gen Z) come into the market, it’s not at the same level that we would’ve seen for past generations at the same age,” Lautz said. “We need to build more housing inventory to meet the demand, the pent-up demand, I should say, of young adults to be able to purchase.”
While boomers still outpace their home-buying overall, older millennial homebuyers (36-45 years old) posted the highest median household income as of 2024 at $132,700, and consequently are also pursuing the largest houses per the report. Gen Z (18-26) posted the lowest at $76,000, while $109,000 was the median income for all buyers. Millennials, both older and younger, were also the most educated homebuyer demographic; 75% of younger millennials held at least a bachelor’s degree. Millennials posting the highest median income but trailing boomers could suggest it is primarily a smaller section of high-earning millennials who are becoming homebuyers.
Regardless of income, the majority of homebuyers (74%) continued to finance their home purchases, though the share of those who do so decreases as buyers’ ages do.
For down payments, younger buyers rely on savings, while older buyers use the proceeds from previous home sales.
Multigenerational housing is also rising, with 14% of homebuyers purchasing a multigenerational home. Gen X was the most likely to purchase a multigenerational home, with 19% of Gen X buyers doing so. The most common reason for purchasing a multigenerational home was due to buyers’ aging parents, either for health/caretaking reasons or simply to spend more time with them. The second most common reason, cited by 29% of all buyers, was to save on costs; 55% of buyers aged 27-35 (younger millennials) who purchased a multigenerational home cited this as the reason, much higher than other age demographics.
Younger generations are also bringing forth the greatest diversity among homebuyers. Twenty-eight percent of Gen Z buyers and 27% of millennial buyers identified as Hispanic/Latino, Black/African American, Asian/Pacific Islander or other. The vast majority of homebuyers (89% of all buyers) still described their sexual orientation as heterosexual or straight.
A continuing trend observed by the report is the increasing number of single women becoming homebuyers; 25% of all homebuyers were single women, with 35% of Gen Z homebuyers being single women. Lautz described single women as “outperforming” in “every generation” of homebuyers.
“(Single women buyers are) very common when we look at both Gen X buyers and baby boomers. So perhaps at that point they may have had a past relationship and that has dissolved. And so now they’re moving on to homeownership by themselves, but we do continue to see that women outperform,” Lautz said, also noting that single women typically seek smaller square footage and price points.
Agent-centric findings
One factor that is largely true across the age divides? Buyers want trusted agents to help their home search.
The report found that the vast majority of buyers in all age groups, 88%, purchased their home through an agent or a broker. The age group most likely to use an agent or broker was 71- to 79-year-olds, at 90%. Even in the age group least likely to use an agent or broker (80- to 100-year-olds), 86% still did so.
Surveyed buyers, asked about what they most want from their real estate agent, most frequently said help in finding the right home (50% of all buyers said this). Most common reasons besides that included help with negotiating terms of the sale (13%), help negotiating the price (12%) or help with paperwork (7%).
“When we look at why they’re using agents, it’s still the bread and butter,” Lautz says in an interview with RISMedia. “They want someone who’s going to help them understand the process, to show them the local market, to show them fault and features in their properties, to help with negotiation. And this is really unwavering when we look at the trust that is had through real estate agents and the buyers. This is the biggest financial transaction they’re likely to have since they really do want someone who’s going to help them along that process.”
Fifty-four percent of all buyers said that agents helped by identifying unnoticed features or faults in a property, while 52% said their agent helped them better understand the process. The biggest plurality of all buyers (43%) found their agent through a referral, followed by 15% that rehired an agent they had previously used during a home sale.
On agent communications, 72% of all buyers said it was important for an agent to personally call them as well as to text them. However, the data also suggests that younger buyers prefer important communication over text rather than phone calls. For Gen Z and millennial buyers (18- to 45-year-olds) an average of 64% said their agent calling them to keep them in the loop was important, while an average of 74% said texting important information was important.
Ninety-one percent of all buyers said they would definitely or probably use their agent again or recommend them to another buyer. The median number of times a buyer has recommended their agent since buying is one time; 38% of all buyers have not recommended their agent, the largest plurality.
Lautz, who told RISMedia that overall findings indicate buyers are satisfied with their agents, suggested this had more to do with buyers’ social circles than dissatisfaction with agents.
“It may be that no one around them has purchased a home and so they didn’t pass along that contact information. But I would say the majority actually did have someone around them. They did purchase a home, so it may just be their select circle of friends,” Lautz said.
