As the largest generation in the country, Millennials are taking the homeownership world by storm. According to RentCafe, the number of Millennials who own a home has significantly increased within the last five years.

With 52% of Millennials owning a home, the generation is no longer a renter-majority demographic. Millennial homeownership reached 18.2 million in 2022, making Gen Y the second fastest-growing age group for homeownership in the last decade. From 2017 to 2022, Millennials added seven million new homeowners – strongly exceeding the added numbers of other generations. While Gen X homeownership numbers increased by 1.9 million and Gen Z by 1.6 million, the Baby Boomer demographic experienced a decrease of homeowners by 350,000.

Several large metro areas are experiencing significant boosts in ownership within the housing market. Named on the list of Top 30 Metro Areas With The Highest Rise in Millennial Homeownership, Atlanta saw a whopping 128.7% increase in ownership in the last five years with a 30.6% decrease in renters. Other metro areas with growing homeownership are Modesto, California, Colorado Springs, Colorado and Pensacola, Florida.

Many factors aid in providing the perfect economic environment for Millennials to thrive within the home-buying space, including the global pandemic. The pandemic caused several Millennials to return home to live with their parents, allowing time for them to save money for a down payment. In addition, a study from LendingTree states that 59% of Gen Y home buyers receive financial help from parents for a mortgage down payment.

Also supporting Millennials buy their dream homes are income increases. Data from IPUMS shows that the Millennial generation reached a record-high median annual income of $108,000 in 2022, showing a 44% increase from previous years.

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