Single Gen Z Women in US Lead Homeownership Over Men

Single Gen Z women are leading the housing market, accounting for 35% of homebuyers in their generation compared to 18% of single Gen Z men, according to National Association of Realtors survey data.

NAR polled those who purchased a home in the period of July 2024 through June 2025. It surveyed both the younger generations, who were aged 18 to 26 (Gen Z) and the older generations. Gen Z was the largest generation with one-third of homebuyers being single women.

But overall, Gen Zers, the survey's definition of those born between 1999 and 2011 — still accounted for just 4% of all homebuyers over the course of the survey. And at the time of the survey, the share of U.S. homes bought by first-time buyers of all ages sank to the lowest level on record going back to 1981.

In addition, first-time home buyers may not have any equity in a home that they can leverage to help fund a down payment. This is what happened to Bri LaFluer. At 24, she purchased her own home after several years of saving half of her salary, working two jobs and with the support of a sluggish real estate market.

“I feel like it was meant to be and this just ended up being the perfect house for me and my dogs,” she said.

The stock market was extremely competitive in 2021, given historically low mortgage rates, which helped to push prices up when she started searching for a home. She finally settled in a house she built in 1900 in Baldwinsville, N.Y., about 15 miles from Syracuse, which has three bedrooms, 1.5-baths and a large yard. She got it for $175,000.

Key Highlights:

• Single Gen Z women make up 35% of homebuyers in their generation, compared to 18% of men
• Gen Z accounts for only 4% of all homebuyers as affordability pressures continue to rise
• Many young women achieved homeownership through years of saving, sacrifices, and financial support

Bri worked as a content creator for a video game company and paid a small rent, making it easier for her to save up more quickly for the $20,000 down payment.

Overall, the NAR survey data are the latest indication that single women are taking the lead in becoming homeowners compared to single men. Gen Z homebuyers are much more likely than homebuyers in all other generations to be unmarried. But single women across the generations made up a quarter of all homebuyers in the July 2024-June 2025 period, according to NAR. Single males, on the other hand, made up 11% of all home deals.

This has been a longstanding trend going back at least to 1981. The percentage of single women home buyers reached a high point at 22% in 2006, which was during a time of high housing demand in the mid-2000s boom, NAR reports. For single men, their share of homeownership peaked at 12% in 2010.

There is no single answer to the question of why across the generations single women outnumber single men as homeowners, experts say.

Women now are outpacing men in college attendance, which can lead to higher incomes, said Jessica Lautz, NAR’s deputy chief economist.

They are often very interested in home ownership, which would help them to gain independence that they couldn't do without their own family.

“It wasn’t until the 1970s where women were legally protected to have a mortgage on their own,” Lautz said. “And they have embraced this and been very strongly embracing this.”

Home ownership is a dream of most aspiring Gen Z, but they have a number of hurdles to overcome to afford a home, in their best income earning years. They probably won't be married and they might have to pay back student loans.

Their median annual income of $76,000, as of 2024, also was the lowest compared to homebuyers from all other generations, according to NAR.

Soaring home prices over the years have also begun to push affordability beyond its breaking point. Home prices are generally continuing to increase, although many metros are seeing a deceleration in home price growth and a decline in home prices. Last month, the median home sales price in the U.S. was $417,700, a 0.9% increase from a year ago, according to the NAR.

However, Gen Z homebuyers are also more likely to be able to get financial assistance from family members—and many are aware of the possibility of researching community grants or other first-time homebuyer programs. And 1 in 10 tapped their 401(k) retirement savings plan to put toward their down payment, according to NAR.

Other home shoppers have no recourse but to save up on their own. But Mariah Berry was preoccupied with something else as plenty of her college peers were out partying.

“I did not go out and was driving an old beat-up car,” said Berry, a social media content creator. “It was not fun.”

It worked out in 2023 when Berry bought her 2-bedroom, one-bath property in the small town of Charleston, Tenn. located about 45 miles from Chattanooga. She was just 23.

Mariah had been dreaming of home ownership her entire life but this desire became all the more pressing when they moved in and out of short-term rentals and couch surfed with friends.

Mariah purchased one of two ranch style units she waited for for $218,000. She paid a $7,000 down payment and then financed the remaining amount with a 30-year mortgage at 6% interest.

“I do think it’s pretty frickin’ awesome that I’m a homeowner and that I became a homeowner at 23,” she said. “I will say that after I put in the offer, I wanted to puke. I was like, ’Oh my God, did I do the right thing?'”

Mariah is now looking at the possibility of buying the other half of the duplex some day. “That could be a good opportunity for us to have and like to rent out half of it," she said.