Nearly one-quarter of Gen Zers and millennials who recently bought a home used either a cash gift from family or an inheritance to help fund their down payment, according to a recent Redfin-commissioned survey.
Nearly one-quarter (23.8%) of young Americans who recently bought a home used family money to help fund their down payment, according to a recent Redfin survey.
For this report, “family money” means either a cash gift from family or an inheritance. Roughly one in five (20.7%) young Americans–Gen Zers or millennials–who recently bought a home used a cash gift from family to help with their down payment, and roughly 11% used an inheritance.
There are also other ways Gen Zers and millennials get help from family: About 18% report they lived with family or friends to save money for their down payment.
More than half (56.5%) of recent Gen Z and millennial buyers saved directly from paychecks to make their down payment, making it the only method young homebuyers cited more often than cash gifts from family.
| 21% of Gen Z/Millennial Homebuyers Used a Cash Gift From Family to Help Fund Down Payment
How did you accumulate the money you need for a down payment? (Select all that apply) |
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| All | GenZ/Millennial | Gen X | Baby boomer | |
| Saved directly from paychecks | 54.0% | 56.5% | 55.8% | 51.4% |
| Worked a second job | 11.2% | 17.6% | 12.1% | 5.1% |
| Cash gift from family | 13.4% | 20.7% | 13.8% | 7.1% |
| Sold stock investments | 13.2% | 20.4% | 10.8% | 8.8% |
| Pulled money out of retirement funds early | 9.4% | 12.3% | 11.1% | 6.1% |
| Inheritance | 10.3% | 10.8% | 11.7% | 8.7% |
| Contributed less to retirement savings | 6.4% | 10.5% | 6.9% | 2.4% |
| Sold cryptocurrency investments | 5.4% | 12.7% | 3.5% | 0.5% |
| Sold another home | 27.0% | 15.8% | 25.0% | 36.0% |
| Used equity from another home I still own | 9.5% | 12.6% | 8.9% | 7.8% |
| Lived with parents/family/friends to save money | 9.3% | 18.1% | 7.9% | 3.2% |
| I received assistance from the government | 4.5% | 7.9% | 4.8% | 1.2% |
| I received assistance from a non-profit association | 5.5% | 11.2% | 5.2% | 0.9% |
This is according to a Redfin-commissioned survey conducted by Ipsos, fielded to 4,000 U.S. residents in May 2025. More than 2,000 recent buyers answered the question about how they paid their down payment. When we refer to “young” homebuyers in this report, we are referring to people who are millennials or Gen Zers; there are 700 young recent buyers who took the survey.
More than one in 10 (12.7%) young recent buyers used cryptocurrency to help fund their down payment, and 20.4% sold stock investments. Retirement funds also contributed to down payments: 12.3% of Gen Z and millennial buyers pulled money out of retirement accounts early, and 10.5% contributed less to retirement.
We asked survey respondents how they accumulated funds for their down payment because for many Americans, it’s difficult to afford to buy a home. The median U.S. home-sale price, and the median monthly mortgage payment, are both near record highs. And while wages are rising, they aren’t rising as quickly as housing costs.
Zooming in on down payments, the typical U.S. homebuyer’s down payment was roughly $63,000 as of 2024, up 7.5% from a year earlier. That’s equal to 16.3% of the typical home-purchase price.
“People need to live somewhere, and living somewhere costs money. The problem right now: housing costs too much for a lot of people,” said Dan Close, a Redfin Premier agent in Chicago. “Some of those people live with their parents, and some are lucky enough to get help from their parents for a down payment and/or their monthly housing payments. In cases where that’s an option, it’s not a bad time to buy and start building equity because it’s a buyer’s market and lots of sellers are giving concessions.”
18% of Young Renters Aren’t Buying Because They Can’t Afford a Down Payment, 25% Because They Can’t Afford a Home in Their Area
For young renters who aren’t planning to buy a home anytime soon, inability to save for a down payment is one reason. Nearly one in five (18.2%) Gen Z and millennial renters said one reason is that they’re unable to save for a down payment.
The most common reasons young renters aren’t buying homes are all related to lack of affordability. One-quarter (24.7%) of young renters aren’t buying because they can’t afford a home in the area where they want to live, making it the most commonly cited reason. Nearly one-quarter (23.4%) say they’re not buying because they’re financially unprepared for the surprise costs of homeownership, and one in five (19.9%) say mortgage rates are too high.
| 1 in 5 Young Renters Say Rates Are Too High to Buy
Whether you are interested in becoming a homeowner or not, which of the following are reasons why you won’t be purchasing a home in the near future? |
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| Gen Z/Millennial | Gen X | Baby boomer | |
| There are no or limited homes for sale that I/we like | 8.5% | 4.5% | 3.2% |
| I don’t want to put in the work/effort to maintain a home I own | 4.7% | 8.8% | 13.7% |
| I’ve made offers on homes but they weren’t accepted | 3.1% | 0.9% | 0.8% |
| The only homes I can afford are in areas I am not interested in living in | 13.2% | 10.7% | 6.6% |
| I enjoy the flexibility of rental leases | 14.4% | 13.5% | 14.9% |
| I am not ready “settle down” and commit to one home yet | 10.4% | 5.0% | 2.6% |
| I don’t plan on living in my current city long term | 9.5% | 6.4% | 4.9% |
| I lack financial support from family or friends | 9.5% | 10.7% | 6.2% |
| I am unable to save for a down payment | 18.2% | 25.3% | 23.1% |
| Mortgage rates are too high right now | 19.9% | 26.7% | 27.3% |
| I need to pay off student loans first | 9.2% | 3.1% | 0.8% |
| Regular upkeep/maintenance would be too expensive | 11.4% | 13.7% | 19.3% |
| I am not financially prepared for surprise costs (e.g., repairs, change in homeowners’ association fees) | 23.4% | 22.4% | 26.0% |
| Concerns about job security | 8.3% | 12.4% | 4.0% |
| I recently lost my job / I don’t have enough job security at the moment | 6.8% | 7.3% | 5.5% |
| Insurance for homeownership is too expensive (includes homeowner’s, disaster, theft, etc.) | 9.4% | 10.3% | 14.7% |
| I can’t afford a home in the area where I want to live | 24.7% | 26.6% | 32.6% |
| I don’t think homes for sale in my area are worth their price | 12.8% | 15.4% | 14.3% |
| I don’t want to compete in a bidding war for a home | 7.4% | 6.7% | 6.1% |
| I’m worried about being discriminated against or treated unfairly in the homebuying process because of my race, religion, ethnicity | 11.8% | 5.4% | 0.7% |
| I’m worried about being discriminated against or treated unfairly in the homebuying process because of my gender/sexual identity | 11.1% | 3.3% | 2.6% |
