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Home-Buying Trends: Millennials vs. Gen Z

Home-Buying Trends: Millennials vs. Gen Z

Created09.09.2025, 17.58

Updated10.09.2025, 06.54

The real estate market in 2025 is being shaped by two powerful buyer groups — Millennials and Gen Z. Together, they are redefining what it means to own a home, influencing everything from urban development to the way agents market properties. However, while they may share a love for Instagram-worthy interiors and tech-ready spaces, their priorities and purchasing strategies differ significantly.

Millennials vs Gen Z in real estate isn’t just a generational curiosity — it’s a roadmap for developers, investors, and agents who want to stay ahead. Understanding millennials and real estate means understanding a generation that’s now in their late 20s to early 40s, many of whom are finally overcoming economic hurdles to buy. Meanwhile, Gen Z in the home-buying market is just stepping onto the property ladder, bringing fresh expectations about sustainability, affordability, and location.

This blog explores the millennial real estate journey, the rise of Gen Z home buying trends, and what these shifts mean for the future of property investing.

Millennials and Real Estate: A Delayed but Determined Entry

millennials and real estate For years real estate market has questioned: Are millennials buying homes? The answer is yes. Millennials are finally buying homes, often after years of saving and navigating student debt. According to recent millennial home buying statistics 2025, the percentage of millennials buying homes has risen steadily in the last three years, despite high mortgage rates.

Economic challenges delayed their entry into homeownership, but millennials buying homes in 2025 are doing so with a strategic mindset. They value both affordability and investment potential, often seeking neighborhoods with good schools, stable job markets, and strong resale value.

According to the National Association of Realtors, Millennials make up 29% of recent home buyers, most of whom are married couples. They are also the most educated group in the market, with the majority holding a bachelor’s degree or higher—an advantage that often boosts earning potential and access to financing.

What Millennials Want in Homes

Millennial trends in real estate show a strong focus on functionality and adaptability. Many are remote workers, so home offices are no longer a bonus but a requirement. Millennials buying homes for dogs is also a surprisingly consistent trend, with fenced yards and pet-friendly layouts ranking high on wish lists.

Eco-friendly features like solar panels, energy-efficient appliances, and sustainable materials are becoming essential for this group. These buyers are also attracted to mixed-use communities with walkable access to shops, parks, and public transit.

Real Estate for Millennials as an Investment

Real estate investing for millennials has grown in popularity, especially in mid-sized cities where prices are more approachable. Millennials investing in real estate often prefer duplexes, townhomes, or small multifamily properties that can generate rental income while they live in one unit.

Some of the best cities for millennials to buy a home in 2025 include Antalya, İzmir, and Bodrum in Turkey, and Valencia, Malaga, and Alicante in Spain. These locations combine affordability, lifestyle appeal, and strong investment potential. In these areas, home-buying tips for millennials include locking in fixed-rate mortgages early and considering up-and-coming neighborhoods before prices peak.

Gen Z in the Home-Buying Market: Young, Bold, and Digital-First

The question isn’t ‘are Gen Z buying homes’—it’s how they’re doing it differently. Recent Gen Z home-buying statistics show that this generation now makes up around 3% of the home-buying market, and most of these buyers are single. Many prefer older homes due to more affordable prices, and their education rate is higher than the millennial generation.

Instead of following a traditional solo path, Gen Zers are open to pooling resources with friends, family, or a romantic partner to access homeownership—a trend highlighted by The New York Times. This willingness to embrace co-ownership and shared living models reflects both their pragmatic approach to affordability and their collaborative lifestyle values.

While Gen Z homeownership remains modest in absolute numbers, they are entering the market at a faster pace than Millennials did at the same age, particularly in more affordable areas. The flexibility of remote work is allowing them to explore a wider range of locations, shaping demand for smaller, budget-friendly homes and creative ownership arrangements that reduce the individual financial burden.

How Gen Z Is Impacting the Real Estate Market

The influence of Gen Z is already visible. They are demanding digital-first real estate experiences: virtual tours, AI-powered home searches, and blockchain-based contracts. They also care deeply about sustainability, making eco-certifications and green building materials more mainstream.

When asking ‘’where can Gen Z buy a home’’, affordability is key. Many are flocking to secondary cities like Tulsa, Boise, and Valencia in Spain, where their budgets stretch further while still offering vibrant cultural life.

Gen Z Home-Buying Trends

Gen Z home-buying trends lean toward smaller, more efficient spaces that reduce maintenance costs. Outdoor space, community gardens, and coworking lounges are often valued over oversized kitchens or formal dining rooms.

As a generation that largely owns pets, Gen Z prefers homes that are pet-friendly, designed with spaces suitable for cats and dogs. In terms of design, they tend to favor minimalist aesthetics and smart-home systems that enhance functionality and save time.

Comparing Motivations: Millennials vs Gen Z

While Gen Z and millennials' real estate preferences overlap in areas like sustainability and tech integration, their motivations diverge.

Millennials buying homes often see it as a culmination of financial stability, sometimes after years of delayed timelines due to economic factors.
Gen Z in the home-buying market views it as a proactive step to secure future wealth, even if it means starting small or buying in non-traditional locations.

Millennials are more likely to prioritize school districts, long-term neighborhood growth, and resale potential, while Gen Z focuses on lifestyle amenities, community culture, and immediate affordability.

Market Trends in 2025 for Both Generations

High Mortgage Rates, Creative Solutions

Both groups are contending with high borrowing costs. However, millennials buying homes often rely on larger down payments to offset interest, while Gen Z home-buying trends show a preference for adjustable-rate mortgages or shared equity programs to get started.

Location Flexibility

Remote work has expanded the geographic options, but Millennials tend to choose family-friendly suburbs within commuting distance og major cities. Gen Z gravitates toward vibrant, smaller cities or international hubs where the cost of living is lower.

Investment Mindset

For millennial real estate, rental income potential is a top driver, where it’s an Airbnb-ready basement or a separate ADU (accesırty dweing unit). Gen Z and millennials' real estate overlap here, but Gen Z shows more willingness to explore fractional property ownership or crowdfunded real estate investment as stepping stones. If you’re unsure which property type fits your investment goals best, check out this guide on how to decide which property is the right one for you.

Why These Trends Matter for Developers and Investors

Understanding millennial home-buying trends and Gen Z home-buying statistics helps builders and agents create relevant products. For example:

Developers focusing on eco-friendly, pet-friendly, and tech-ready homes will attract both groups.
Smaller, affordable units in mixed-use developments appeal especially to Gen Z buyers.
Suburban communities with strong infrastructure and lifestyle amenities remain a stronghold for Millennials.

Even niche preferences, like millennials buying homes for dogs, reflect a broader shift toward designing for lifestyle rather than just square footage.

Millennials and Gen Z: Shaping Real Estate Trends

The millennials vs Gen Z real estate story in 2025 is one of convergence and contrast. Both generations value sustainability, digital tools, and smart investments, yet their timelines, priorities, and entry points differ. Millennials and home buying is a story of perseverance, strategic planning, and finally achieving ownership despite economic headwinds. Gen Z home buying trends, on the other hand, are about agility, boldness, and leveraging technology to enter the market sooner.

For anyone watching the real estate for millennials or Gen Z, the takeaway is clear: these buyers are shaping the industry’s future. From millennials investing in real estate in expanding suburbs to Gen Z buying homes in affordable cities with vibrant lifestyles, the preferences of these generations are shaping new trends and redefining what homeownership means in 2025

The question is no longer if they’ll buy; it’s where, how, and with what vision for the future.