--- title: Half of Young Americans Say They’ll Never Own a House description: Among non-homeowners, 53% of people say that "owning a home will never be financially affordable," according to new survey data. authors: - name: Pete Grieve role: Lead News Reporter url: https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/ bio: Pete Grieve is a personal finance reporter at Money who frequently covers news stories about housing topics including home buying, mortgage rates and homeowners insurance. education: University of Chicago, BA Political Science at_money_since: 2022 articles: 600 covers: - Housing - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes social: - https://twitter.com/pete_grieve - https://linkedin.com/in/pete-grieve-b5aa02138 - https://www.facebook.com/petegrieve4 editors: - name: Julia Glum role: Managing Editor url: https://money.com/author/julia-glum/ bio: Julia Glum joined Money in 2018 and specializes in covering financial trends that affect everyday Americans' wallets. She also writes Dollar Scholar, a weekly newsletter that teaches young adults how to navigate the messy world of money. education: University of Florida at_money_since: 2018 articles: 453 covers: - Housing - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - Newsweek - International Business Times - CBS News - Good Morning America - WUSA9 - Pix 11 - The New York Times - Mashable - The Washington Post - CNBC - Politico social: - https://x.com/superjulia - https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-glum published: '2025-12-03T14:30:55.000Z' section: Housing tags: - News word_count: 513 canonical: https://money.com/young-americans-never-own-house/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Illustration depicting a woman unsure of her future as a homeowner](https://img.money.com/2025/03/Non-Homeowners-Never-Able-Afford-House.jpg?crop=0px%2C191px%2C2880px%2C1620px&quality=85) Americans who don't already own homes are deeply discouraged about their chances of overcoming the obstacles to homeownership. Among non-homeowners, 53% of people say that "owning a home will never be financially affordable," according to [new survey data](https://news.northwesternmutual.com/planning-and-progress-study-2025) from life insurance company Northwestern Mutual. While Northwestern Mutual doesn't report how homeowner sentiment in 2025 compares to previous years, other studies confirm that affordability has worsened for first-time buyers. The National Association of Realtors reported in November that the typical age of a homebuyer had increased to 56, rising from age 49 the year before. The [age of the typical *first-time* homebuyer](https://money.com/first-time-homebuyer-age-record-high/) was 38, up from 35 in 2023. The climbing age of homebuyers underscores the fact that younger Americans are having a difficult time competing in the market, as they typically have less access to the capital needed to buy a house. The costs have simply gone up too much, especially for Gen Zers and millennials. According to [Realtor.com](https://www.realtor.com/research/february-2025-data/), the median list price in February was $412,000, which is up 39.2% since February 2019. The price per square foot is up even more: 54.8%. ***Extra Money: [See how you can get up to $1,000 in stock when you fund a new active SoFi invest account](https://www.sofi.com/invest/active/?clickId=QBK320UbxxycRfezqJyEmQA2UkpWlt1M00000w0&irgwc=1&afsrc=1&adId=2878257&adName=Active%20Invest_Money%20Group%20%24175%20Payout&partnerId=137710&partnerName=Ad%20Practitioners%20Main&adTarget=brokerage&partnerType=Affiliate&adDepartment=BD&sharedId=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F&ami=&programId=11190&utm_source=impact&utm_medium=affiliates&utm_campaign=Active%20Invest_Money%20Group%20%24175%20Payout)*** While [mortgage rates](https://money.com/current-mortgage-rates/) have decreased since peaking above 7% in mid-January, the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate was 6.65% for the week ending Thursday, which is still high enough to sideline many would-be buyers. And with inflation still above the Federal Reserve's target rate of 2%, [some officials](https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/feds-bostic-may-need-stay-patient-policy-until-summer-2025-03-07/) are saying that interest rates cuts could be on hold until at least the summer. That means high mortgages rates could persist. On top of housing affordability issues, households say their budgets are being challenged by inflation — the No. 1 financial concern for most people — making it harder to save, according to Northwestern Mutual. ***Save Smarter: [Take control of your money with the Rocket Money budgeting app, one of Money's favorites](https://money.com/pr/h160ddd2a8b2?data-trk-company=rocket-money-review&data-trk-imp=true&data-trk-pcu-type=direct_link&data-trk-pcu-uuid=h160ddd2a8b2&encoded_id=)*** All of these factors are contributing to the despair among non-homeowners. The life insurance company's poll found that people say owning a home is not an affordable goal because: - They don't have enough saved for a down payment (64%) - Mortgage rates are too high (48%) - The housing market is too competitive (43%) Gen Zers who do not own homes are slightly more optimistic than older non-homeowners about their chances. While 58% of those millennials say homeownership is not an affordable goal, the percentage is lower (49%) for Gen Z non-homeowners. "When it comes to whether people believe they can afford to own a home, age is a big factor," John Roberts, chief field officer at Northwestern Mutual, said in a news release. "Gen Zers are still young and have more time on their side to get to a place where home ownership feels attainable." *Editor's note: Money originally published this article on March 17, 2025.* ## Buy your home with more convenience and less hassle ![View Rates](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/38130/medium_29a2a129-cf1d-4fcb-a92d-901b0c9bf0f6.webp) Our Partner [View Rates](https://money.com/go/cb009089b12a?bidid=4063568876&pmeta=p129-c488-u36862&ptid=665769496&ptoken=d2a034ff008cfb760a2c32aaa2d9cc45) ![View Rates](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/39711/medium_85521de9-b6c5-4b35-a129-169c217d0287.webp) Our Partner [View Rates](https://money.com/go/b61435584336?bidid=4063568884&pmeta=p129-c488-u36862&ptid=665769496&ptoken=610bff5bd3bc49bbf766702e902a8c5e) ![View Rates](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/34120/medium_4ba40e39-00f6-4f3e-9a12-67943aa4166f.webp) Our Partner [View Rates](https://money.com/go/71221d6732cf?bidid=4063568880&pmeta=p129-c488-u36862&ptid=665769496&ptoken=a64e754099073ceef40a9847168bf7da) ![](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/26681/medium_57f09f10-efb8-487d-a73e-5f7d605144eb.png) Imagine finally owning your dream home — Rocket Mortgage (NMLS #3030) can help! 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