With Homeownership a Stretch, Young Renters Invest in Stocks

For a growing slice of younger adults, the "starter home" is now a brokerage account. The Wall Street Journal reports that people in their mid-20s to late 30s are shifting savings from down payments to ETFs and index funds, with JPMorgan Chase Institute data showing the percentage of 25- to 39-year-olds regularly moving cash into investment accounts more than tripling between 2013 and 2023. Among 26-year-olds, just 8% had invested by 2015; as of May 2025, it's 40%—and that's not counting 401(k)s.

High prices and steep mortgage rates are part of the story, but so are trading apps, a roaring stock market, and a changing sense of what security looks like. One Chicago renter turned a would-be $10,000 down payment into a portfolio up 66% in under six years; a Manhattan 23-year-old said she trusts a diversified fund more than a climate-exposed house. A Moody's Analytics scenario even shows a disciplined renter-investor beating a homeowner by more than $1 million over 30 years—though that discipline is a big if. The Journal has the data, caveats, and voices behind this shift here.