Having a steady job and a college degree used to be enough to get started on your own. These days, it's not always that simple.
With home prices up 34.4% and rents up 17.9% since 2019, more young adults are finding that moving out is easier said than done, with one in three adults under 35 (33%) living with a parent. Living with family longer isn't necessarily a setback, though. For some, it's a chance to save toward buying their first home.
Here's what's keeping young adults at home longer and how to make the most of that time if homeownership is your goal.
Why So Many Young Adults Live at Home
Housing costs have climbed a long way since 2019. Here’s where national prices and rents stand, according to Realtor.com data:
- The median home listing price is $430,000, 34.4% higher than in 2019.
- The median asking rent is $1,673 a month, 17.9% higher than in 2019.
- The U.S. is short an estimated 4 million homes, a shortage that started when home building slowed after the 2008 financial crisis.
The shortage hits starter homes and entry-level rentals the hardest. Those are the homes young adults need when they’re ready to move out on their own.
Young adults living at home don’t fit the old stereotype, either. Here’s who they are, according to Realtor.com:
- Seven in 10 adults ages 25 to 34 living with their parents have jobs.
- 31.5% of 25 to 29-year-olds at home have a bachelor’s degree or higher.
- 26.8% of 30 to 34-year-olds at home have a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Hannah Jones, a senior economist at Realtor.com, said the problem comes down to housing supply.
“The adults living with their parents today are largely employed, and many hold college degrees. What’s holding them back isn’t a lack of qualifications, but rather, at least in part, a lack of housing they can actually afford. This is a supply story, not an employment story.”
Realtor.com notes that people are marrying later in life, and that pushes back the age when they set up their own households.
How to Save for a Down Payment in Your 20s and 30s
First-time buyers are older than they used to be. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) says the median first-time buyer is 40 years old and put down 9% over the past year.
Living at home has its advantages. For one, it gives you a head start on that down payment, since you’re not paying a landlord every month. Whatever you’re contributing to household expenses is likely far less than you would spend on rent.
If that’s your plan, you’d be in brilliant company. In 1993, 12% of first-time buyers lived with family before buying their first home, according to NAR. In 2026, 21% did.
NAR says personal savings is the top source of down payment money for first-time buyers, which makes sense considering how many more people are living with family longer to save toward becoming homeowners.
You can also use other sources, including:
- Down payment assistance programs, which include grants you don’t pay back and second loans that can be put off or forgiven. Down Payment Resource counts 2,110 programs that help with down payments or closing costs, with an average benefit of $18,000 per buyer.
- Gifts or loans from relatives and friends, which 25% of first-time buyers used, according to NAR.
- Investments like stocks, bonds, retirement accounts or cryptocurrency, which 30% of first-time buyers used, according to NAR.
A lender can tell you how much you’ll need to put down and which assistance programs you qualify for. I’d suggest talking with at least two or three so you can compare options.
Ask each one about low down payment loans and assistance programs you might be eligible for.
Living with your parents gives you a chance to build bigger savings than you could while paying full rent. Set a savings goal and talk with a lender about what you’ll need.
When you want to see what’s for sale in Massachusetts, I’d love to help.
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