millennials are now showing a sharp divide in the housing market, with older buyers moving up while younger households keep struggling to get in. The National Association of Realtors’ 2026 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends report, released in Washington on April 15, 2026, says Baby Boomers remained the largest share of buyers and first-time purchases fell to a record low.
The report shows first-time buyers made up just 21% of all home purchases, down from 24% in the previous survey and the lowest level since 1981. The gap is widening inside the millennial group itself, as older millennials are using home equity to buy bigger homes while younger millennials are still fighting affordability pressures and limited inventory.
Older millennials move into the lead
Older millennials, ages 36 to 45, now have the highest median household income of any generational group at $132, 700, and they bought the largest homes at a median 2, 100 square feet. They were also the most likely to have children living under their roof, placing them in a very different position from younger buyers still trying to enter the market.
Jessica Lautz, deputy chief economist at the National Association of Realtors, said these buyers are now in middle age and at the peak of their careers or heading there. She said older millennials are leveraging the equity from homes they bought in earlier years and using it to trade up, which mirrors a long-running pattern once associated with Baby Boomers.
First-time buying keeps falling
The same report says younger millennials, ages 27 to 35, are still having a harder time breaking in. Their share of first-time buyers fell from 71% to 60% in a single year, and Lautz said student loan debt and credit card burdens remain heavier for that group.
For younger households, the housing market remains sharply divided between homeowners with equity and first-time buyers trying to break in. Lautz said affordability challenges and limited inventory are still making homeownership difficult to achieve, and she added that the situation now appears to be a structural issue.
The broader millennial share of homebuyers also slipped from 29% to 26%, making millennials the only major generational group to lose ground in the report. That drop hides the split between older millennials moving up and younger millennials still stuck at the entry point.
What Boomers and younger buyers mean for the market
Baby Boomers remained the largest generational group of home buyers, holding a 42% share that was unchanged from the previous year. The report says their position is supported by home equity gained from properties they previously owned and sold.
At the same time, Baby Boomers also made up 55% of all home sellers, underscoring how much of the market is still shaped by owners with time and equity on their side. The report also notes that multigenerational homes declined in market share to 14% from 17% last year.
For millennials, the divide is now the story. Older millennials are becoming move-up buyers, while younger millennials are still trying to get a foothold in a market where first-time buying has fallen to a record low. What happens next will likely hinge on whether affordability and inventory improve enough for millennials who are still waiting for a first shot at ownership.
