Millennials are the most likely to have given up on purchasing a home in the past five years, according to a new survey which found that younger generations feel particularly discouraged by the ongoing affordability crisis.
Bankrate’s 2025 Home Affordability Survey found that one in six (16 percent) aspiring buyers in the U.S. could not find a property they could afford between 2020 and 2025 and had given up on making a purchase.
“U.S. home affordability is at its worst level in decades,” Stephen Kates, a financial analyst at Bankrate, said in the report. “The punishing combination of high home prices, low supply and high mortgage rates has caused one in six home shoppers over the past five years to give up completely.”
The share of discouraged homeowners went up to 22 percent among millennials—the highest percentage among all generations. They were followed by Gen Xers at 17 percent, Gen Zers at 12 percent, and baby boomers also at 12 percent.
How Many Millennials Are Homeowners?
After being sidelined by several recessions during their formative years, many millennials have finally broken into the U.S. housing market, even if they have done so with a considerable delay compared to previous generations.
The median age of first-time homebuyers hit 38 last year, up from 35 in 2023 and by almost 10 years compared to the 1980s, according to data by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). That means that many millennials are pushing 40 as they finally step on the property ladder.
Many, however, still do not own a home. According to Redfin, 54.9 percent of millennials owned their own home in 2024, a rate that was essentially unchanged from a year earlier, showing that homebuying was stalling for this generation. Before last year, homeownership among millennials had grown each year since 2012.
Why Are So Many Giving Up On The Dream Of Owning A Home?
Younger Americans surveyed by Bankrate believe they have fewer opportunities to buy a home than older generations. Among Gen Zers, 54 percent feel this way, compared to 48 percent of millennials who think their parents and grandparents had it better. The number went down to 38 percent among Gen Xers and just 22 percent among baby boomers.
Some 17 percent of millennials say that too much debt is keeping them from buying a home. According to the Education Data Initiative, the average millennial had an outstanding student loan balance of $40,438 in 2023.
“Younger Americans are feeling this disadvantage at a time when homeownership is increasingly out of reach,” Kates said. “Gen Z and millennials are in their prime home-shopping years, but face a high barrier to entry.”
Home prices have grown by over 30 percent in the past five years, driven by a surge in demand during the homebuying pandemic frenzy and a chronic lack of supply all across the country. While the pace of home price growth has finally slowed down in recent months due to a growth in inventory caused by slowing demand, other issues—including high mortgage rates and rising home insurance premiums—are still keeping many young people to the sidelines of the housing market.
Despite setbacks, 74 percent of millennials still believe that owning a home is part of the American dream, according to the Bankrate survey, saying it trumps other forms of financial success.
More Opportunities Ahead?
While young Americans’ disillusionment with the housing market is understandable, experts think that the near future will present them with better opportunities to step onto the property ladder. In recent months, the U.S. market has started shifting in favor of buyers, giving them more negotiating power as inventory levels have risen to pre-pandemic levels. Some parts of the country, especially metropolitan areas in the Sun Belt, are already solid buyers’ markets.
“Four or five years ago, you had to get an offer within a day, or you missed your opportunity,” Benjamin Clark, broker-owner of Buyer Representation in Salt Lake City, and president of the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents, told Bankrate.