Gen Z, Locked Out of Home Buying, Puts Its Money in the Market

A generation of young people locked out of homeownership has found another way to build wealth: putting money into the stock market.

The share of people 25 to 39 years old making annual transfers to investment accounts more than tripled between 2013 and 2023 to 14.4%, outpacing increases for those 40 and over, according to data from the JPMorgan Chase Institute. The share of 26-year-olds who transferred funds to investment accounts since turning 22 shot up from 8% in 2015 to 40% as of May 2025. The numbers don’t include people investing in 401(k)s.

“We’ve seen really strong, surprisingly strong growth in retail investing in recent years among people who may otherwise be first-time home buyers,” said George Eckerd, the research director for wealth and markets at the institute.

The age range includes young millennials and there is overlap in the numbers between investors and homeowners, but Eckerd was struck by the rise in young and lower-income investors at the same time that home buying activity has fallen. That, he said, has tilted the balance of wealth accumulation toward financial markets for young people.