This is according to Redfin’s analysis of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data covering purchases of primary homes. It does not cover purchases of investment properties or second homes.

The breakdown of homebuyers by age has remained stable over the last five years, with younger Americans as the most common mortgage borrowers. The likelihood of taking out a mortgage declines as people get older.

Redfin said there are several reasons why people under age 45 are taking out most mortgages:

Gen Zers and millennials are aging into homeownership; the median age of first-time U.S. homebuyers is 35. People tend to be in their late 20s or 30s when they buy their first home because that’s when homeownership becomes financially feasible and desirable. They’ve had time to save for down payments and qualify for mortgages, and they may be growing their families.

Many people view real estate as a safer long-term place to park their money than the stock market or other traditional investments.

Younger buyers are likely to take out loans rather than pay for homes in cash because they haven’t had much time to amass wealth and/or build equity from the sale of a previous home. Older buyers are more likely to pay in cash.

“First-time buyers aren’t as spooked by high rates as people who are trying to move up to a bigger or better home,” Antonia Ketabchi, a Redfin Premier agent in Maryland, said in a release. “High costs are still a challenge, but younger people are excited about the fact that they’re looking to buy their first home, and they’re not locked in by a low mortgage rate because until now they’ve been renting. Plus, they weren’t in the market three years ago when mortgage rates were sitting under 3 percent, so they don’t have an ultra-low point of comparison.”

Although Gen Zers and millennials were most likely to buy homes last year, they still have lower overall homeownership rates than older Americans, which stands to reason because they haven’t had as much time to buy homes. Just over one-quarter (26 percent) of adult Gen Zers owned their home in 2023, and 55 percent of millennials owned theirs. That’s compared to a homeownership rate of 72 percent for Gen Xers, and 79 percent for baby boomers.

Gen Zers are catching up to older generations, though: 19–25-year-olds have a higher homeownership rate than millennials and Gen Xers when they were the same age, according to Redfin.