US Housing Costs Double Since 2022, Driving 25.2 Million Under-35s Home

1 articles · Updated · Fortune · Jul 29

25.2 million U.S. adults under 35 lived with their parents in 2025—a record nearly one in three—as Susan Wachter argues high housing costs are turning the American Dream into a “Great Postponement.”
Mortgage rates climbed from 3% to 6% since 2022, home prices rose 40%, and Freddie Mac’s 30-year rate reached 6.58% in 2026, pushing first-time homeownership further out of reach.
70% of those under-35 adults living at home were employed, suggesting delayed milestones stem less from joblessness than from affordability pressures; first marriage ages have risen to 30.8 for men and 28.4 for women.
Wachter says the shift is creating a K-shaped path to ownership, with parental wealth increasingly determining who can buy, even as the 21st Century Road to Housing Act aims to expand supply and affordability.