Millennials are defying warnings about the housing market with a 'buy now, pray later' attitude, but boomers could block them

Millennials accounted for roughly half of 2024 mortgage applications across the 50 largest U.S. metros, and they led even in the priciest tech hubs, underscoring their role as the market’s most active buyer cohort despite affordability headwinds, according to new Realtor.com data .

Fortune’ s recent coverage shows many younger buyers are “buying now, praying later,” leaning on adjusted-rate mortgages (ARMs) or refinancing—an approach experts warn could become a financial “ticking time bomb” if rates don’t fall meaningfully—highlighting risk beneath millennials’ apparent momentum.

What the new report says

Millennials (ages 28–43 in 2024) made 49.7% of mortgage inquiries in the 50 largest metros , down from 52.3% in 2023, with analysts attributing the dip to worsening affordability