面对高企的房价和持续的抵押贷款利率，千禧一代和Z世代购房者正面临严峻挑战。Zillow数据显示，2025年，普通家庭需要比去年多赚约17,670美元才能负担得起典型美国住房的抵押贷款。在此背景下，一些年轻买家正寻求亲友的帮助来实现购房梦想。Zillow专家指出，高达38%的购房者能获得来自家人或朋友的赠款或贷款，并且20%的婚礼注册表中已包含购房基金。例如，一对夫妇通过婚礼募集资金，结合亲友的帮助，成功建造了自己的附属住宅单元（ADU），为实现“安居梦”开辟了新途径。

🏠 购房成本高企，年轻买家面临巨大经济压力：Zillow数据显示，2025年，普通家庭需要比去年多赚约17,670美元才能负担得起典型美国住房的抵押贷款。 nationwide home prices remain high, and mortgage rates are still hovering around 6%, significantly higher than a few years ago. This economic reality makes traditional homeownership increasingly out of reach for many millennials and Gen Z individuals.

🤝 亲友资助成为新趋势，占比显著提升：面对购房困境，越来越多的年轻买家转向亲友寻求经济支持。Zillow专家指出，高达38%的购房者能获得来自家人或朋友的赠款或贷款。这一数字凸显了社会支持网络在帮助年轻一代实现购房目标方面所扮演的重要角色。

💍 婚礼基金成为新选择，反映购房优先性：一个有趣的现象是，20%的婚礼注册表中已包含购房基金。这表明，在当今的经济环境下，许多年轻夫妇更倾向于将婚礼礼金用于购置房产，而非传统的家居用品。这反映了他们对拥有自己住房的强烈愿望和现实考量。

💡 附属住宅单元（ADU）为购房提供了新思路：文章中的Benjamin夫妇通过在父母后院建造一个1200平方英尺的ADU，成功实现了拥有自己房产的目标。在房价极高的地区，ADU提供了一种相对经济实惠的购房或居住解决方案，尤其是在获得家庭支持的情况下，这为其他面临类似困境的年轻家庭提供了可借鉴的模式。

Gen Z and millennial homebuyers are struggling in the real estate market.To make homeownership more affordable, some buyers are turning to their friends and family.A Zillow expert told BI that 20% of wedding registries now include house funds.

It's no secret that becoming a homeowner is financially out of reach for many millennials and Gen Z buyers.

Zillow data shows that in 2025, the typical median-income family would need to earn about $17,670 more this year than last to afford the mortgage on a typical US home.

It couldn't happen at a worse time.

While home prices are dipping in some cities, they remain high nationwide. And even though mortgage rates have edged lower week by week, they're still hovering around 6% — a far cry from the 3% range seen just a few years ago. All this is unfolding against the backdrop of a sluggish economy and a job market marked by slower wage growth and a wave of layoffs hitting employers both small and large.

However, Zillow's home trends expert Amanda Pendleton notes that some young homebuyers are finding a workaround — by asking friends and family to help them fund a home purchase.

"Spoiler alert, they're not doing it alone. Thirty-eight percent of all buyers today are getting some kind of gift or loan from a family member or friend. And another fun stat — 20% of wedding registries now include house funds," Pendleton told Katie Notopoulos on Business Insider's new video podcast, "Well Spent."

'We would rather have wedding money spent toward a home than getting gifts"

Turning to family and friends is exactly what Aislyn and Ali Benjamin did when they got married in 2022.

The California couple didn't want traditional wedding gifts like kitchen appliances, or anything that would be forgotten and gather dust in a few years. Instead, they asked their guests for cold, hard cash to help fund the construction of their first home.

It's easy to understand why. The Benjamins both run small businesses in Danville, California, a city about an hour east of San Francisco, where the median home price was $1.8 million in September, according to Zillow. Buying a home in the city was unrealistic, and renting wasn't a long-term solution. For them, building an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) in Ali's parents' backyard in San Ramon just eight minutes from Danville was their best shot at homeownership.

And why not use a day when everyone was already celebrating them to help make it happen?

"I just made a GoFundMe, and we sent it out with our invites so people could contribute through the online link," Aislyn, 30, told Business Insider.

In total, the couple raised $5,545 on GoFundMe and received about another $5,000 in cash, checks, and other gifts at their wedding, bringing their total to about $10,000.

That money, along with help from Ali's parents, allowed them to build a 1,200-square-foot ADU by Bay-area-based company Villa for $500,000. They also financed the project with a mortgage.

"It gave us a little bit of a head start and a buffer, allowing us to not have to save up quite as much money," Ali Benjamin, 35, told Business Insider.

"We would rather have wedding money spent toward a home than getting gifts."