The Gen Z Trait That’s Causing Them To Miss Out on Their Dream Home

Gen Z homebuyers are finally entering the market—but there’s one trait that real estate agents warn could make them lose out on closing the deal.

Detroit real estate agent and house flipper Hunter Schattler had the perfect house for his famous musician client. It was inside a coveted gated community on the water where families had lived for years, and the house itself was gated.

Schattler, as he is prone to do, arrived early; but his client, a Gen Zer, did not.

“My guy arrived 45 minutes late,” he tells Realtor.com®.

When the client finally got there, he loved the house; but because he was so late, the seller walked in the door, believing the showing was over. The homeowner had two children, who immediately recognized the famous musician.

“They were big fans, so the seller got curious about my client,” says Schattler.

After doing a bit of searching online, the seller found out the client was in the press for having “a past that is a little troubled,” says Schattler.

The owner then not only refused to sell to the client, but was angry the client had even been inside his house at all.

The lesson?

“Show up on time,” says Schattler. “If my client had done that, he would have the house.”

“It’s a painful lesson in the importance of acting swiftly in a competitive market, where hesitation can lead to regret,” he says.

Gen Z moves at its own pace—and bosses don’t like it

Gen Zers don’t have a laissez-faire approach only to their homebuying.

Bosses are generally unhappy with Gen Z hires, with 75% of the almost 1,000 managers surveyed saying they would be reluctant to hire another recent college graduate, according to a recent survey from Intelligent.com.

Meanwhile, the survey found 9 out of 10 managers even said Gen Z hires need “etiquette training.”

One major complaint? Lateness.

About 25% say Gen Z employees are often late to start work, and about 20% said they are often late to meetings and to finish assignments.

“Many recent college graduates may struggle with entering the workforce for the first time as it can be a huge contrast from what they are used to throughout their education journey,” says Intelligent’s chief education and career development advisor, Huy Nguyen.

Gen Z would be wise to bring punctuality into the workplace—and house hunting. Nearly half of the 68 million Gen Zers in America plan to buy a home in the next 5 years, according to a Realtor.com survey.

The Gen Z share of home-purchase applications accounted for 13% in 2024, a 3% increase, according to a recent report by CoreLogic.

“Gen Z represents a higher proportion of homebuyers in Midwestern markets and a lower proportion in more expensive coastal areas,” says the report. “Many Gen Z homebuyers are single, but about 45% of the applicants had co-applicants in 2024. These co-buyers may include friends involved in co-living arrangements or parents who are co-signing.”

And while homeownership has become out of reach for so many due to the double-whammy of high mortgage rates and home prices, 87% of Generation Zers still believe homeownership is part of the American Dream, slightly more than Gen X or millennials.

How tardiness affects the homebuying journey

Bianca Fabian, co-founder of PR agency Command Collective, sits on the cusp between Gen Zer and millennial. She learned that even being punctual may not be enough in a hot market.

“My husband and I both work in real estate, so we know more than the average person,” she tells Realtor.com. “But even we were shocked at the pace things move.”

The couple was house hunting in January 2023 in Long Island, NY, during a particularly frenzied time and market.

“I didn’t realize how stiff the competition was,” she says. “It was war.”

They lost the very first house as they were driving to the showing.

“We figured we would pull up 15 minutes early and check out the neighborhood,” she says. “But on the way there, we got a call from our agent that the house had been sold.”

So they decided to start arriving “super early” for showings—which worked in their favor, as they were frequently getting calls from their agent that another person scheduled to see the house was late, and asking if Fabian and her husband could be there “in 5 minutes.”

“Someone else’s tardiness worked in our favor,” she says.

Her advice? “Be ready to move quickly.”

She and her husband scored their dream home in four months.

Punctuality matters—to everyone

“Being chronically late to showings can be a huge problem, particularly if you are showing occupied homes and if you have multiple properties you are showing in different areas,” says agent Cara Ameer, who represents clients in both California and Florida. “There are lives, children, pets, and people’s schedules behind every property for sale.”

Late birds might not only lose their dream home, but could potentially sour their relationship with an agent.

“Being chronically late can make us look really unprofessional to other fellow agents whose listings we are showing,” says Ben Jacobs, of Douglas Elliman in New York.

His colleague, Jessica Chestler, agrees.

“Our time is valuable,” she points out. “We work very hard for our clients; and if our clients can’t give us the same respect, it makes a working relationship very challenging. The money is less important to us in those situations, as our reputation and time mean the world to us.”

She adds: “There’s a saying that is sadly true: ‘Time kills all deals.'”