Overview
- New National Association of Realtors data published in May 2026 found single Gen Z women made up 35% of Gen Z homebuyers while single Gen Z men accounted for 18%.
- The survey tracked people who bought homes between July 2024 and June 2025 and showed Gen Zers still represented only 4% of all buyers during that period.
- First-time buyer activity fell to its lowest share since 1981, leaving many young buyers without home equity to fund down payments.
- Gen Z buyers report a median household income of $76,000 and commonly rely on family help, community downpayment programs or, in about one in ten cases, 401(k) withdrawals to afford purchases.
- Analysts point to long-term forces — higher female college enrollment and post-1970s legal ability for women to hold mortgages alone — as drivers of the broader trend of single women buying homes at higher rates than single men.