Home buyers ages 27-45 made up just 26% of all buyers, according to the 2026 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends Report produced since 2013 by The National Association of REALTORS. That’s down from 29% the year before. This signals that Millennials’ share of the housing market is shrinking instead of hitting their peak homebuying years. Instead of becoming homebuyers, many are stuck waiting, saving or sitting on the sidelines for various financial and socioeconomic reasons.
Data from NAR’s Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers explains that younger Millennials, in particular, are feeling the squeeze. This is the group that should be buying their first homes, but affordability and low inventory keep moving the goalposts. Data from NAR’s report showed how, for decades, first-time buyers typically bought between ages 29 and 33. That timeline snapped in 2021, when the median age jumped to 36, and has since climbed to a record 40.
By 2025, younger Millennials accounted for only 11% of home buyers, and while 60% were first-time buyers, that figure fell sharply from 71% the year before. NAR’s translation: First-time buyers aren’t just delayed; they’re being squeezed out.
The report also noted that older Millennials, in their 30s and 40s, are more established, earning more, and finally getting some return on decisions they made earlier.
With the highest median household income of any generation ($132,700), fewer first time buyers (just 33%), and more dual income households, they’re using built up equity to trade up. Twenty-one percent say their main reason for buying was simply wanting more space, the highest of any generation. With a third raising kids and 14% living in multigenerational homes, square footage isn’t necessarily a luxury—for some it’s a necessity.
Lauren Bunting is a Broker with Keller Williams Realty of Delmarva in Ocean City, Maryland.
