Zillow: Half Of All Homebuyers Are First-Timers

A new data report from Zillow (NASDAQ: Z, ZG) has determined that half of all homebuyers are purchasing their first home, the highest share that the company has recorded.

This 50% share is up from 45% in 2022 and 37% in 2021. Nearly half of first-time buyers are millennials (49%), while Gen Z adults account for nearly one-quarter (27%) of the property purchasers.

Zillow also determined that 60% of first-time buyers are tapping at least two sources to finance their down payment, most commonly their savings and gifts from family or friends. Zillow also pointed out that it now takes an average of nearly 12 years for a typical first-time buyer to save up for a down payment, compared to nine years prior to the pandemic.

“High mortgage rates and a shortage of inventory are keeping would-be repeat buyers in their current homes,” said Zillow senior population scientist Manny Garcia. “A greater relative share of first-time buyers is filling the gap, and they’re competing against each other for the limited number of affordable starter homes on the market.”