Nearly Half Of U.S. Renters Anticipate Buying A Home Within Four Years

Nearly half (47%) of U.S. renters anticipate being ready to buy a home within the next four years, according to recent research from Experian released in November 2025.​

Key Findings

• 47% of current renters believe they’ll be ready to purchase a home within four years, and this number rises to 67% when considering the next eight years.​

• Gen Z and millennial renters express notable optimism, with 48% of Gen Z and 50% of millennial non-homeowners expecting to buy by 2029.​

• The main obstacles cited by renters are funds for a down payment (67% of respondents), high home prices (66%), and low credit scores (51%).​

• While many renters aspire to homeownership, only about 12.7% of renter households can currently afford median-priced homes in their local market, reflecting a growing affordability gap.​

Factors Impacting Expectations

• Improvements in credit scoring and adoption of new tools, such as VantageScore, may help more renters qualify for mortgages in the future.​

• Modern credit tools and positive rental payment reporting are seen as ways to ease qualification concerns, potentially closing the homeownership gap for renters and younger Americans.​

• Economic uncertainty remains, with many renters citing financial barriers and lack of knowledge about mortgage options as challenges to home buying.​

Generational Trends

A majority of millennials remain optimistic, while a significant proportion of boomer renters feel homeownership will not be possible for them.​

Summary

Despite high home prices and economic hurdles, nearly half of U.S. renters are optimistic about the possibility of buying a home within the next four years, pointing to future shifts in U.S. homeownership rates—and highlighting the impact of evolving financial solutions and education for consumers.​