Decision Fatigue: Why Gen Z Is Regretting Their Dream Homes

For young prospective homebuyers, older homes present a potentially more affordable way to achieve homeownership. Yet, many Generation Z homeowners harbor regrets surrounding their aging home purchase, despite their willingness to tackle home renovation projects themselves. However, Gen Z remains optimistic about long-term homeownership.

The research team at This Old House surveyed 2,000 homeowners in February 2025 to explore the motivations and approaches to home repairs, maintenance, and remodeling projects among each generation. Our analysis of the survey data revealed that Gen Z homeowners are more likely to struggle with the financial burdens associated with maintaining an older home compared to older generations.

As first-time homeowners, Gen Zers are more likely to miscalculate home renovation costs as they build their dream homes. These home expenditures—when combined with property taxes, routine upkeep, emergency repairs, and other common homeownership expenses beyond the monthly mortgage payment—can quickly put homeowners in a financial bind.

Investigating the full scope of homeownership costs can help prospective and current homeowners of all generations better balance the various expenses associated with owning and maintaining a home.

Gen Z Leads the DIY Charge—But at What Cost?

The majority of millennial (89%), Gen Z (87%), and baby boomer (80%) homeowners have completed repairs or renovations within the last three years. While millennials and Gen Zers are more involved in home maintenance projects, Gen Zers (75%) are more likely to say they DIY their repairs. In addition, Gen Z homeowners are the most likely of all generations to admit that finding and hiring a trustworthy contractor stresses them out.

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Fixer-Upper Fatigue: Why Gen Z Has the Most Homeownership Regrets

Despite Gen Z’s ambition, nearly 70% have homeownership regrets—more than any other generation. Top regrets among Gen Z homeowners include the following:

• Not budgeting enough for maintenance (26%)
• Buying a home that’s too old (21%)
• Not budgeting enough for unexpected repairs (20%)

Among all generations, Gen Z is most likely (36%) to state their home was considered a fixer-upper at closing. In fact, they’re 57% more likely than millennials and 89% more likely than Gen X to own a fixer-upper. Only 15% of baby boomers chose a fixer-upper over a move-in-ready home.

Gen Z homeowners rank aesthetic upgrades as their primary motivation for their highest-priority home renovation projects, likely due to taking on more fixer-uppers. Thirteen percent of Gen Zers—twice as many as millennials—say they pursued their highest-priority projects due to buying a fixer-upper. Millennials, Gen Xers, and baby boomers cite “repairs due to damage” as the driving force behind their renovation activities.

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Homeownership Isn’t One-Size-Fits-All

Gen Z is most likely to say they’re first-time homebuyers (65%), but they tie with Gen X in feeling the most overwhelmed by the number of decisions they face when managing home projects (33%). Millennials are the most likely (34%) to say contractor availability was difficult to navigate. Nearly 100% of homeowners from all generations report finding aspects of managing home projects stressful.

Gen Zers are also the most likely generation to express concerns about being overcharged. The most common stressor for baby boomers is a perceived lack of skills required to complete home projects themselves. This older generation is 55% more likely to feel this specific stress than Gen Z.

In spite of these challenges, the majority of homeowners of all generations still advise aspiring homeowners to pursue homeownership. However, more than one in five Gen X, millennial, and Gen Z homeowners feel they couldn’t afford to live in their current home forever. Nearly a quarter (23%) of Gen Z homeowners express this sentiment, more than any other generation.

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The Financial Strain of Fixing Up

Gen Z is the most likely generation to take on debt for upkeep (39%) and struggle the most with property taxes (31%) and mortgage payments (29%). In contrast, more than half (54%) of baby boomers say no particular housing cost burdens them. While more than 70% of homeowners across every generation expressed concern that tariffs may drive up renovation material prices, the sentiment was most prominent among Gen Zers (75%).

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Tips for Renovators of Any Age

Tackling home renovations—like buying your first home—can prove challenging if you don’t take the time to educate yourself before diving in. Below are renovation tips homeowners of any age can use to make more informed decisions regarding home renovations:

• Budget for the boring stuff: Routine maintenance was a top cost pain point for Gen Z (22%).
• Know your limits: Nearly one in five Gen Zers regret not knowing how to make repairs themselves (18%).
• Get the inspection: 14% of Gen Zers regret skipping one, showing this corner-cut isn’t worth it.
• Vet your pros: With over half (58%) of Gen Z stressed about contractor trust, take your time on hires.

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Methodology

The research team at This Old House surveyed 2,000 U.S. homeowners using Pollfish, a third-party market research and survey platform, to gain insights regarding Americans’ experience with and outlook on repairs, maintenance, and remodeling projects. We collected survey data for this report from February 10, 2025, to February 11, 2025.

We weighted responses to align with population demographics across age and gender to be representative of all U.S. adults (aged 18+). The margin of error is +/- 2% with 95% confidence.

Questions about our study? Please contact the author here.

Fair Use Policy

We encourage journalists and reporters to share our findings on generational differences in home project experiences. If you choose to do so, please link back to our original story to give us proper credit for our research.