As a kid, I walked past a purple house with turquoise trimming. The door was a forest green that didn’t quite match the rest of the house, but somehow it worked. The steps leading up were burgundy, nearly hidden beneath potted plants and bits of soil scattered by the wind. The rest of the neighborhood was uniform with little to no color. I remember wondering why only one homeowner chose color while everyone else looked the same as one another. I made a vow then: when I grew up, my home would be colorful too.
Two decades later, that promise still stands, but the path to homeownership feels more out of reach than ever.
The new reality for young adults
Thirty years ago, young adults followed a predictable script. College, full-time job, marriage, homeownership, all before turning thirty. A white picket fence wasn’t just a metaphor; it was the standard.
Today, that path feels foreign. According to the National Association of Realtors, “First-time buyers decreased to 24% of the market share (32% last year). This year now marks the lowest share since NAR began collecting the data in 1981.” The average age of a first-time homebuyer has climbed from 29 in 1980 to 38 today.
Meanwhile, median home prices have surged far beyond income growth. Many members of Gen Z and younger millennials are watching housing prices surpass their paychecks. The traditional formula we were once promised–save 20%, buy a starter home, build equity—no longer exists.
The invisible track record
According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, nearly 45 million Americans are considered “credit invisible” or “unscorable.” Many of them are young renters who have never missed a payment on their biggest monthly bill, but those payments rarely count toward their credit history.
The irony is hard to miss. Rent is often the largest recurring expense for people under forty, yet traditional credit models give it no weight unless it’s specifically reported.
Redefining the dream
But is it completely hopeless? Maybe not. What’s really shifting isn’t just affordability, it’s definition.
Where our parents measured adulthood in mortgages and milestones, many of us measure it in financial stability, autonomy, and freedom. The new version of the American Dream might not begin with a deed but with something simpler: creditworthiness.
Strong credit is the modern gateway to opportunity. It influences everything from loan approval to car insurance rates and even job applications. Of course because young adults today cannot afford a mortgage, they are left behind in the pursuit of long-term debt payments, until now. While rent payments aren't the equivalent of a mortgage payment, they now have the capacity to build credit. Young adults are no longer forced to stay behind. A system we were once excluded from is one we are redefining.
Giving credit where it’s due
That’s where tools like Ava’s Rent & Utility Reporting come in. They’re part of a growing effort to level the financial playing field for renters.
By securely linking rent and utility payments, Ava helps users report their on-time payments to major credit bureaus without taking on new debt. It’s not a credit card, it’s not a loan, and it’s not a quick fix. It’s simply a way to ensure that the financial consistency young adults already demonstrate is finally visible.
It’s one of the few credit-building strategies that doesn’t require borrowing. Instead of punishing those who stay debt-free, it rewards the quiet reliability of everyday adulthood: paying rent, keeping the lights on, and managing bills responsibly.
For renters who have felt locked out of traditional credit systems, that recognition can make all the difference. A stronger credit profile can help lower future borrowing costs, qualify for apartments more easily, or even bring homeownership a step closer.
Building toward color
Maybe the dream hasn’t disappeared at all, it’s just being rebuilt.
For Gen Z, turning rent and utilities into reported credit history is a small but meaningful act of progress. It’s a way of reclaiming agency in a system that often feels rigged against first-time buyers. It’s the slow but steady process of adding color back into a gray neighborhood.
I still think about that purple house sometimes. I haven’t bought my own yet, but I’m still keeping that promise to my younger self. Every rent payment I make, every bill I pay on time, is a brushstroke toward that dream.
It might take longer to own it outright, but for now, I’m building the foundation in the best way I can, credit line by credit line, payment by payment, color by color.
Sources
- National Association of Realtors, 2024 Home Buyers and Sellers Profile
- Pew Research Center, Financial Independence and Young Adults (2024)
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Credit Invisibles Report (2023)
- U.S. Census Bureau, Housing Vacancy and Homeownership Report (2024)
