Millennials show higher interest in buying a home despite high mortgage rates, study finds
An "Open House" sign is displayed outside a home for sale in Miami, Florida. (Scott McIntyre/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
High mortgage rates remain a burden for consumers searching for a home on the market. But one generation of prospective buyers isn’t letting this deter them from pursuing a house.
Millennials are the main group with a higher interest in buying a home in this year compared to September 2024, based on a new survey from Realtor.com. The survey also assessed how homeowners finance their home purchase.
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The online real estate marketplace conducted a survey on April 10-11, 2025 among a national sample of 2,203 adults 18 years old and older.
Millennials' intentions of buying a home on the rise
Why you should care:
Nearly 1 in 4 millennial respondents in a Realtor.com survey said they plan to purchase a home in the next six months, up from just 15% in September 2024. Only 14% of all respondents admit they plan to do the same.
According to Realtor.com, millennials' buying intentions rose 23% in 2025 compared to September 2024 (15%), although 69% of Americans are not planning to take part in a real estate transaction in the next six months.
Mortgage rates influence decisions to purchase a house
Dig deeper:
Approximately one-third of respondents suggest that they have delayed buying a home because of high mortgage rates. The study also noted that younger generations, many who are first-time buyers, are substantially impacted by high interest rates.
Approximately 55% of Gen Z respondents and 47% of Millennials said they are delaying a home purchase because of mortgage rates, compared to 35% of Gen X and 18% of Baby Boomers.
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Separately, respondents explained that their buying a home is contingent upon what the mortgage rate is. The survey revealed that nearly a third of respondents said mortgage rates do not affect their decision to purchase a home.
But 2% of respondents admit they would be willing to buy a home with rates above 6%, where rates have been since September 2022. Sixty-three percent of homebuyers say they are looking for mortgage rates to drop below 5%, or even lower, to consider buying. The Redfin survey noted that 82% of current mortgages have a rate of 6% or lower.
How are consumers buying homes?
Local perspective:
Current homeowners in the survey shared the different resources they used to buy a home. Fifty-seven percent said personal savings, compared to 15% who utilize investments or retirement accounts. While 12% of homeowners leveraged gifts or loans from family members. Realtor.com noted that 1 in 4 respondents planning to purchase a home in the next six months anticipate using money from their retirement savings.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by a Realtor.com survey conducted on April 10-11, 2025 among a national sample of 2,203 adults 18 years old and older. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.