Gen Z is carving a different path in the housing market by doing it alone

The common milestones of the American dream once came in rapid succession. Couples would get married, buy a home, and have kids. But low inventory, skyrocketing mortgage rates, and stagnating wage growth have scrambled those milestones for some.

The National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) 2026 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends Report, a survey of 6,103 primary residence buyers from July 2025, found that many Gen Zers—which the NAR defines as those ages 18 to 26—are skipping the chapel and walking straight into a realtor’s office. More than half of Gen Zers today, 53%, are buying homes alone. That figure is more than double the rate at which millennials were buying homes solo at the same age. An NAR study from 2013, the first year NAR released their generational trends report, found that singles comprised just 22% of homebuyers 32 and younger. Out of those Gen Zers purchasing a home, 35% are single women and 18% are single men.

“Gen Zers are absolutely crushing it when we think about singles purchasing homes in this housing market compared to millennials at the same age,” Jessica Lautz, deputy chief economist and vice president of research at NAR, told Fortune.

The trend is the latest data point in the generational reinvention of the path to homeownership. A 2025 Coldwell Banker survey Read Entire Article