Why Gen Z Isn’t Buying Homes Yet

NEW YORK — 

Gen Z buyers make up 3% of all buyers, compared with 42% of buyers from the Baby Boomer generation in 2025, the National Association of Realtors® said.  While high house prices and interest rates may be partly to blame for younger buyers standing on the sidelines of the housing market, some suggest that money management may be playing a role as well in their home buying decisions.

According to PYMNTS Intelligence, Gen Z's top financial priority is paying down debt, with the average Gen Z adult carrying $94,101 in personal debt, a significant portion of which is on credit cards.

Having large sums of income tied up with monthly payments has even high-earning Gen Z adults unable to save for a down payment on a home.

Hannah Jones, senior economic research analyst at Realtor.com, said, "Though Gen Z Americans may dream of homeownership, still-high housing costs mean that stepping onto the property ladder may not be possible at this point in time. By prioritizing paying off debt, Gen Z prospective buyers are setting themselves up for success when homeownership does become more feasible."

According to PYMNTS, there are two types of money management mindsets: Reactors and planners.

About 73% of Gen Z adults are reactors, meaning they live paycheck to paycheck, carry high-interest debt and struggle to build savings – a money management style that makes it harder to save money toward larger purchases, such as buying a house.

The number of wealthier adults who identify as planners, those who save and plan out purchases, has declined by 25%. About 52% of top earners are reactors who are focused on short-term financial thinking and chasing growth.

Twenty-two percent of Baby Boomers see retirement saving as a top priority, while 7.7% of Gen Z say the same. The number of Gen Z adults who have starting a business as their No. 1 goal reached about 7%, making them eight times more likely than Baby Boomers to focus on entrepreneurship.

Today's buyers need to earn 70% more than they did six years ago to buy a home.

Source: Realtor.com (06/09/25) Conte, Allaire

© Copyright 2025 Smithbucklin

Florida’s May Housing: Inventory Up, Prices Drop

 By Marla Martin

Over the past few months, “Florida’s housing market is finding its balance, and that’s good for buyers and sellers alike,” said Florida Realtors Pres. Tim Weisheyer.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida’s housing market in May reported increased for-sale inventory (active listings) and lower median prices compared to a year ago – statewide trends over the past few months, according to Florida Realtors®’ latest housing data.

“Florida’s housing market is finding its balance, and that’s good for buyers and sellers alike,” said 2025 Florida Realtors President Tim Weisheyer, broker-owner of Dream Builders Realty and dbrCommercial Real Estate Services in Central Florida. “We’re seeing more inventory, more opportunity, and a market that’s shifting toward sustainability after years of intense demand. Buyers are adjusting to today’s interest rates and focusing on long-term value, while motivated sellers are pricing with strategy in mind.

“In this evolving market, preparation and expert guidance are key – and that’s exactly where your local Realtor® makes the difference.”

Closed sales of existing single-family homes statewide in May totaled 24,756, down 5.7% year-over-year, while existing condo-townhouse sales totaled 8,345, down 19.9% over May 2024. Closed sales may occur from 30- to 90-plus days after sales contracts are written.

The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes last month was $415,000, down 2.7% from the previous year, according to data from Florida Realtors Research Department in partnership with local Realtor boards/associations. Last month’s statewide median price for condo-townhouse units was $310,000, down 6.1% over the year-ago figure. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less.

Looking at the statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes in May, Florida Realtors Chief Economist Dr. Brad O’Connor noted that while last month marks the third consecutive month for a year-over-year drop, May’s decline was less than what was seen in April.

“But there is a clear divergence from last year’s price levels starting to emerge,” he said. “Still, prices remain in the neighborhood of where they’ve been since early 2022 and are 54% above where they were at this time in 2020. May’s year-over-year decline at the state level also masks some considerable variation at the local level, with the median price for single-family homes only falling in 13 of Florida’s 22 metropolitan areas.”

However, price erosion in the condo and townhouse category began in July of last year, O’Connor said, a trend continuing in May. He pointed out that statewide median prices for condo and townhouse units are “still 54% higher than in 2020 – the same difference observed for the single-family side of the market – but in this case, there is more uniformity at the local level, with 19 of Florida’s 22 metros seeing a year-over-year price decline in May.”

With for-sale inventory in Florida on the rise, some price weakness in both property categories is to be expected, according to O’Connor.

He added, “We’ve been chronicling the expansion of Florida’s inventory of homes for sale since early 2022. For more than a year, within both property type categories, inventory levels have been in excess of the levels that were typical of the period of housing market stability we experienced from 2014 through 2019. They remain well below the levels we were seeing in 2008 when we experienced a large price correction during the Great Financial Crisis, which is why right now we are only seeing some minor price erosion by comparison.”

On the supply side of the market, inventory (active listings) rose 28.8% year-over-year for both existing single-family homes and for existing condo-townhouse properties compared to May 2024.

Single-family existing homes were at a 5.6-months’ supply last month while condo-townhouse units were at a 10.3-months’ supply.

© 2025 Florida Realtors®

For Sale Inventory Surpasses 1 Million Homes in U.S.

 Nationally, active listings surpassed the 1 million mark for the first time since winter 2019, while newly listed homes rose 7.2% year-over-year.

AUSTIN, Texas — The U.S. housing market is staging a comeback, but the rebound is sharply divided, according to the May Monthly Housing Trends Report from Realtor.com. The number of homes for sale in the U.S. topped 1 million for the first time since winter 2019, but only metros in the South or West have fully returned to pre-pandemic inventory levels as the Northeast and Midwest remain stuck in a supply squeeze.

"The number of homes for sale is growing, and even hit a key milestone in May, with more than a million active listings. But not every housing market is equally well-supplied," said Realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale. "Recent construction trends explain a lot of the variation in recovery that we see across markets. Many markets that built aggressively during and after the pandemic are now seeing more listings, longer time on market, and even some modest price softening. In contrast, markets that didn't build as many homes are still facing an acute shortage, which continues to prop up prices and limit buyer options."

Inventory is recovering faster in the South and West

All 50 of the largest U.S. metros posted annual inventory gains in May 2025. But, just 22 have fully rebounded to their 2017–2019 inventory norms, and every single one is in the South or West. When it comes to active inventory, cities like Denver (+100.0% vs. pre-pandemic), Austin, Texas (+69.0%) and Seattle, Washington (+60.9%) lead the way, thanks in large part to a post-2020 construction boom. On the flip side, metros like Hartford, Conn. (-77.7%), Chicago (-59.3%) and Virginia Beach, Va. (-56.7%) have recovered the least.

"More homes on the market means buyers finally have options and leverage they haven't had in years," said Gary Ashton, founder of The Ashton Real Estate Group of RE/MAX Advantage in Nashville. "But the strategy for buyers and their agents this spring largely depends on where you live. In Southern locales, like Nashville, the average sales price has increased by 3% as homes remain on the market for longer and local supply increases. We can expect to see sellers get creative with offering concessions to buyers and start to consider more price reductions."

More homes on the market, but affordability is keeping them out of reach

Nationally, active listings surpassed the 1 million mark for the first time since winter 2019, while newly listed homes rose 7.2% year-over-year. But these increases haven't translated into a hot spring buying season. Homes took a median 51 days to sell, six days longer than last year and price cuts rose for the fifth straight month.

In May 2025, 19.1% of listings featured reduced prices, the highest share for any May since at least 2016. Metros with the steepest price reductions were mostly in the West and South, including Phoenix, Ariz. (31.3%), Tampa, Fla. (29.9%), and Denver, Colo. (29.4%).

Why new construction is the great divider

The Realtor.com analysis found a clear link between pandemic-era building activity and today's inventory conditions. Metros that built more housing like Austin, Nashville and Denver have generally returned to pre-2020 inventory levels. Those with less new construction like New York, Boston and Buffalo, N.Y., have not.

This uneven recovery mirrors findings from a recent Realtor.com Housing Supply Gap report, which identified a nationwide shortfall of nearly 4 million homes, and without meaningful changes to zoning, permitting, and construction incentives, supply-constrained regions, especially in the Northeast and Midwest, risk falling even further behind.

Methodology

Realtor.com housing data as of May 2025. Listings include the active inventory of existing single-family homes and condos/townhomes/row homes/co-ops for the given level of geography on Realtor.com; new construction is excluded unless listed via an MLS that provides listing data to Realtor.com. Realtor.com data history goes back to July 2016. The 50 largest U.S. metropolitan areas as defined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB-202301) and Claritas 2025 estimates of household counts.

Beginning with the April 2025 report, Realtor.com has transitioned to a revised national pending home sales data series that applies enhanced cleaning methods to improve consistency and accuracy over time. While the insights and commentary in this report reflect the new series, the downloadable data remains based on our legacy automated pipeline. As a result, there may be slight differences between the report figures and those in the national download file as the transition continues.

With the release of its January 2025 housing trends report, Realtor.com has restated data points for some previous months. As a result of these changes, some of the data released since January 2025 will not be directly comparable with previous data releases (files downloaded before January 2025) and Realtor.com® economics research reports.

Source: Realtor.com

© 2025 Florida Realtors®

U.S. House Prices Rise 4.0 Percent over the Prior Year

 U.S. House Prices Rise 4.0 Percent over the Prior Year; Up 0.7 Percent from the Fourth Quarter of 2024.

for immediate release

05/27/2025

Washington, D.C. – U.S. house prices rose 4.0 percent between the first quarter of 2024 and the first quarter of 2025, according to the U.S. Federal Housing (FHFA) House Price Index (FHFA HPI®). House prices for the first quarter of 2025 were up 0.7 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2024. FHFA’s seasonally adjusted monthly index for March was down 0.1 percent from February.

Significant Findings

• Nationally, the U.S. housing market has experienced positive annual appreciation each quarter since the start of 2012.
• House prices rose in 49 states and District of Columbia between the first quarter of 2024 and the first quarter of 2025. The five states with the highest annual appreciation were 1) Rhode Island, 11.4 percent; 2) West Virginia, 9.3 percent; 3) Connecticut, 9.0 percent; 4) Ohio, 7.6 percent; and 5) Wyoming, 7.4 percent. House prices declined in Hawaii by 2.2 percent.
• House prices rose in 89 of the 100 largest metropolitan areas over the previous four quarters. The annual price increase was the greatest in Newark, NJ at 11.6 percent. The metropolitan area that experienced the most significant price decline was Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL at 9.0 percent.
• All nine census divisions had positive house price changes year-over-year. The Middle Atlantic division recorded the strongest appreciation, posting a 6.8 percent increase from the first quarter of 2024 to the first quarter of 2025. The Pacific division recorded the smallest four-quarter appreciation, at 1.8 percent.
• Trends in the Top 100 Metropolitan Statistical Areas are available in our interactive dashboard: https://www.fhfa.gov/data/dashboard/fhfa-hpi-top-100-metro-arearankings. The first tab displays rankings, and the second tab offers charts.

The FHFA HPI® is a comprehensive collection of publicly available house price indexes that measure changes in single-family home values based on data that extend back to the mid-1970s from all 50 states and over 400 American cities. It incorporates tens of millions of home sales and offers insights about house price changes at the national, census division, state, metro area, county, ZIP code, and census tract levels. FHFA uses a fully transparent methodology based upon a weighted, repeat-sales statistical technique to analyze house price transaction data.

FHFA releases HPI data and reports quarterly and monthly. The flagship FHFA HPI® uses seasonally adjusted, purchase-only data from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Additional indexes use other data including refinances, mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration, and real property records. All the indexes (including their historic values) and information about future HPI release dates are available on FHFA’s website: https://www.fhfa.gov/HPI.

Tables and graphs showing home price statistics for metropolitan areas, states, census divisions, and the United States are included on the following pages.

Notes

• As announced in the previous quarterly report, FHFA adopted the new metropolitan area definitions starting with this release. The set of studied metropolitan areas adheres to the new delineations released by Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in July 2023 (Bulletin No.23-01). These changes will continue to be reflected in future HPI reports. More details can be found from the Technical Note in this report, and the report also provides Additional Highlights that discusses a few examples.
• FHFA will release the next monthly HPI report (including data through April 2025) on June 24, 2025, and the next quarterly report (including data for the second quarter of 2025 and monthly data for June 2025) on August 26, 2025.
• Beginning with the June 2025 HPI release, Excel tables in the .xls format will be published in the .xlsx format. Tables currently released as .txt or .csv will continue be published in those formats.
• FHFA posts release dates for the remainder of 2025 at https://www.fhfa.gov/data/hpi#ReleaseDates.
• Follow @FHFA on X, LinkedIn and Facebook for more HPI news.

 Attachments: FHFA HPI® Quarterly - May 2025

The Federal Housing Finance Agency regulates Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the 11 Federal Home Loan Banks. These government-sponsored enterprises provide more than $8.5 trillion in funding for the U.S. mortgage markets and financial institutions. Additional information is available at www.FHFA.gov, on X @FHFA

, YouTube, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Contacts: MediaInq​uiries@FHFA.gov

Pools remain an asset when pricing a home

 May 21, 2025

Today, buyers are likely to be more discerning and less willing to pay as much of a premium for a home with a pool than during the pandemic.

AUSTIN, Texas — As Memorial Day kicks off the summer season, a new analysis of Realtor.com listing data finds that while the pandemic-driven surge in swimming pool premiums has subsided, pools still command a significant price advantage, and the share of listings featuring pools reached an all-time high this April.

As of April 2025, the price premium for a home with a pool stands at 54%, and the share of listings with pools reached an all-time high of 24.4%, with 333,000 homes featuring a pool, the highest number since March 2019. While this premium is down from the peak in January 2022, when the typical home with a pool boasted a 61% price premium, it is still a significant advantage.

"During the pandemic, people were looking for ways to get more enjoyment out of their homes, and this surge in demand for features like pools, translated into a substantial 'pool premium,' where homes featuring a pool commanded significantly higher asking prices compared to their pool-less counterparts," said Hannah Jones, senior economic research analyst, Realtor.com. "This trend peaked in January 2022, and although price premiums have normalized, the presence of a pool continues to drive a premium and be a popular item to include in listings as a home or community feature."

Do pools drive higher listing prices?

Both homes with and without pools have seen substantial price increases since 2019. In 2019, the typical listing price for a home with a pool was $415,000. So far in 2025, the typical home with a pool was listed for $599,000, shy of the June 2024 peak of $599,900, but paving the way for near-record-high prices for homes with a pool later this summer when prices typically hit their annual peak. This upward trajectory underscores the overall appreciation of home values. Homes without a pool saw prices climb from $274,000 in 2019 to $389,000 in April 2025 (+42.0%), just lagging the appreciation of homes with a pool (+44.3%).

Some of this trend may be attributed to the fact that homes with pools are generally larger than those without. Currently, the typical for-sale home with a pool is about 32.4%, or 600 square feet, larger than one without. In April 2025, the median price- per-square- foot of a home with a pool was $247, compared to $204 for a home without a pool. In April 2019, pool price- per-square- foot for a home with a pool was $162 and without a pool was $135.

While prices have climbed across the board, the price gap between homes with and without pools, in percentage terms, has narrowed from its pandemic highs. According to Jones, "This doesn't necessarily mean pools are less valuable, but rather that the market's premium specifically for this amenity has softened."

The shift in market dynamics from a hyper-competitive seller's market in 2022 to a more buyer-friendly environment in 2025 is a crucial factor influencing the pool premium. In 2022, buyers were often willing to pay a premium for desirable amenities in a market characterized by limited inventory and intense competition. Today, with more options available, buyers are likely to be more discerning and less willing to pay as much of a premium for a home with a pool. Consequently, sellers are adjusting their pricing expectations for homes with this feature.

Where are pools most common?

Pools tend to be most popular in hot climates like the South and the West, where inventory levels have picked up more significantly than in their cooler counterparts, which could be driving the share of listings with a pool higher, as well.

This year, Miami, Phoenix, Orlando, Fla., Austin, Texas and Tampa, Fla., boast the highest share of homes listed with a swimming pool. Las Vegas, Houston, Nashville, Tenn., Indianapolis and Miami have seen the biggest increases in pool listings since 2019. Many of the metros that have seen the biggest increases in pool listings also have seen substantial new construction activity over the past six years, suggesting strong correlation between new development and the increasing availability of homes with pools, either private or within community amenity packages.

2025 and beyond – pools remain an asset; strategic pricing is key

While the extraordinary price premiums associated with swimming pools during the pandemic have softened, pools continue to be a valuable asset in the housing market. Homes with pools still command a significant price advantage over those without, both in absolute terms and on a price-per-square-foot basis.

"Sellers should be mindful of the evolving market dynamics and avoid overpricing their properties based solely on the presence of a pool," said Jones. "The market is more sensitive to value today, and buyers have more choices. A strategic pricing approach that considers the current, more moderate pool premium, the size and overall condition of the home, and the specific characteristics of the local market is essential for a successful sale."

Source: Realtor.com

© 2025 Florida Realtors®

New Rules Condotel Buyers Need to Know

 By Richard Swank

New legislation requires condotel buyers to receive disclosures about maintenance responsibilities and fees for non-condo areas, ensuring clarity before purchase.

ORLANDO, Fla. — On October 1, 2024, Florida Realtors® released revisions to its existing condominium riders to add a section with disclosure language related to “Condominiums Created within a Portion of a Building or Within a Multiple Parcel Building.” This disclosure language was mandated by the Legislature’s creation of section 718.407, Florida Statutes, pertaining to such condominiums. But that title doesn’t shed much light on exactly what kind of condominium the Legislature was talking about. This type of condominium is usually referred to as a “Condotel.”

Most people are vaguely familiar with the usual type of condominium. Generally speaking, the condominium form of governance is created when a developer builds a building (or sometimes a townhouse community) and then sells the individual dwelling units within the building to buyers. These buyers actually own the space inside the unit. In addition to the units themselves, the condominium consists of “common areas,” which are essentially any space outside the units. In a typical condominium, this space can encompass many things, including hallways, elevators, parking garages, pools and pickle ball courts. Once the developer has turned over control to the association, the owners within the condominium own these common areas collectively. The association board then votes on assessments to charge each owner to maintain the whole condominium, including these common areas.

Condotels are a little different. In the condotel form of governance, the owner of the building still sells individual units to buyers, who own the space inside. However, the building owner never turns the building over to an association of unit owners. The building owner – not the unit owners – retains control and ownership of the space outside the units.

Recent legal disputes muddied the waters with respect to who is responsible for the maintenance of this exterior space and whether specific parts of the space constitute common areas or shared amenities. Ultimately, the precise definition of these spaces is not crucial for purposes of this article. The important takeaway is that unit owners recognize they may have little control over how much they are charged to maintain these spaces outside their units.

Concern over this issue prompted the Legislature to pass section 718.407, Florida Statutes. Section 718.407 recognizes the condotel form of ownership and governance, calling it a “condominium created within a portion of a building or within a multiple parcel building.” The statute mandates that when creating such a condominium, the declaration must state which parts of the building are subject to a condominium form of governance and which are not. The declaration must then state which party is responsible for operating and maintaining such shared facilities and the way maintenance expenses will be apportioned.

Perhaps the most significant part of section 718.407 is the Legislature’s mandate that any buyer considering purchasing a unit in a condotel be provided a disclosure acknowledging what they are buying into. This is the reason the Florida Realtors disclosures were amended. The buyer must acknowledge multiple factors, including the fact that there are portions of the building outside their unit not included within the condominium form of governance. Critically, the disclosure puts the buyer on notice that even though the condo owners will not have control over the maintenance budget for these spaces, they will still be responsible for paying these fees.

Most importantly, though the prospective buyer must acknowledge their responsibility for fees, the disclosure does not give the buyer the right to terminate the contract once they become aware of this responsibility. It is therefore crucial that a buyer interested in a condotel unit be aware of this fact before making an offer on such a property. Real estate agents can assist with education about condotels by informing buyers of these issues, and directing their attention to section 718.407, Florida Statutes, at the outset of the representation. If the buyer still has questions, they should consult an attorney familiar with the ins and outs of condotels.

Richard Swank is an Associate General Counsel for Florida Realtors.

Note: Information deemed accurate on date of publication.

© 2025 Florida Realtors®

U.S. buyers median monthly mortgage payment at an all-time high

 May 1, 2025 by Dana Anderson

Mortgage-purchase applications are declining and pending home sales are sluggish.

https://www.redfin.com/news/housing-market-update-record-high-housing-costs-economic-uncertainty/