Gen Z single women outpace men in home buying, NAR says

Single Gen Z women are buying homes at a far faster clip than single Gen Z men, even as the generation as a whole remains stuck on the margins of the housing market. The National Association of Realtors said 35% of single women ages 18 to 26 were buying homes, compared with 18% of single men in the same age group.

That split sits inside a broader market that is still tilted toward older owners and repeat buyers. NAR’s 2026 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends report, based on purchases made between July 2024 and June 2025, found that Gen Z accounted for just 4% of all homebuyers, up from 3% a year earlier. First-time buyers made up only 21% of all buyers, down from 24% in the previous survey and the lowest share NAR has recorded since it began collecting the data in 1981.

Jessica Lautz, NAR’s deputy chief economist, said the market remains divided between households that already have equity and younger buyers still trying to break in. Affordability pressures and limited inventory continue to make homeownership difficult for younger households, even as some members of Gen Z are finding a way in faster than their male peers.

The generation gap is not the only one. Adults ages 61 to 79 continue to dominate the housing market overall, with baby boomers accounting for 42% of buyers and 55% of sellers in the 2026 report. NAR said no other generation had a larger share of single women homebuyers than Gen Z, and its earlier 2025 report showed Gen Z single women already at 30% of buyers in that age group, suggesting the share climbed again.

NAR’s long-running research points to a mix of factors behind women’s outperformance relative to single men. The association has cited a shrinking wage gap, multigenerational households, and women’s longer life expectancy as part of the explanation. It has also warned that women still face financing obstacles, including higher mortgage rates and predatory lending practices.

The gains are not evenly shared. NAR says women of color remain significantly underrepresented among single female homebuyers, and its 2024 analysis found White women made up 82% of single female home buyers on average across the previous 16 years. That leaves a sharper picture beneath the headline: younger single women are beating men in the race to ownership, but the path into the market is still shaped by income, family structure and access to credit.