Redfin research shows that the gap between property owners and renters in younger generations is much larger than the gap in older generations.

SEATTLE — Just over two-thirds (68.7%) of millennial/Gen Z homeowners say they are better off financially than they were four years ago. That compares with just over half (52.2%) of Millennial/Gen Z renters, a new survey from real estate brokerage Redfin shows.

There is a much bigger difference between how young homeowners and tenants feel than there is between how older homeowners and tenants feel. For example, Gen X homeowners were more likely than Gen X renters to say they were better off than they were four years ago, but not by much (42.6% vs. 38.8%).

Just four years ago, millennials were considered the “unluckiest generation” due to their relatively weak economic situation, but this began to change during the pandemic. Scores of young Americans bought their first homes during or in the years before the pandemic and then took advantage of the historic rise in home values ​​fueled by the 2021-2022 home-buying boom. This helped many young people build tremendous home equity, and home values ​​are still on the rise today.

“The economic disparity between young people who manage to become homeowners and young people who cannot do so is increasing,” said Chen Zhao, Economics Research Leader at Redfin. “There was a brief window during the pandemic when mortgage rates were extremely low, allowing many millennials and Gen Zers to purchase homes; However, not everyone could afford to take advantage of this window. Housing affordability has deteriorated significantly since then; Mortgage rates have now more than doubled from pandemic lows and home prices are also near record levels. As a result, many young people are missing out on homeownership and the wealth gains that come with it, and many of the people who bought homes during the pandemic cannot afford the same home today.”

While rent growth has stagnated over the past year, asking rents are still roughly 20% above pre-pandemic levels, and many renters are struggling to make ends meet while grappling with the high costs of other goods like food. Still, most younger renters say they are better off than they were four years ago, and they are much more likely than older generations to say so. This may be because they are more likely than older renters to experience large salary increases as they move up the ladder in their careers.

The lion’s share of baby boomers are reportedly worse off than they were 4 years ago

The Baby Boomer generation was the only generation where the lion’s share of survey respondents said they were worse off financially than they were four years ago; 38.2% of baby boomer homeowners and 40.2% of baby boomer renters reported that they were worse off. This may be because many baby boomers live on fixed incomes, Zhao said.

By comparison, 18% of Millennial/Gen Z homeowners and 26.2% of Millennial/Gen Z renters say they are worse off, compared to 33.1% of Gen X homeowners and 35.9% of Gen X renters He said their situation was worse.

This is according to a survey commissioned by Ipsos in September 2024 with Redfin. The survey was administered to 1,802 people aged 18-65. For the purposes of this report, Redfin defines Generation Z as ages 18-27, Millennials as ages 28-43, Generation X as ages 44-59, and baby boomers as ages 60-65.

Source: Redfin

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