A new report says student loans, high rent, and location preferences are among impediments to Millennial homeownership The millennial generation came of age under the shadow of the housing bust in 2008, and while the housing market has since recovered in most American markets, many millennials remain unable or unwilling to ditch renting in favor of homeownership.
Given the United States makes homeownership central to wealth building, this is potentially problematic for the future financial prospects of the nation?s largest-ever generation, particularly at a time when income and wealth inequality is so entrenched.
A new report from the Urban Institute takes a deep dive into why the millennial homeownership rate remains stubbornly below that of other generations. For millennials ages 25 to 34, homeownership is 8 percentage points lower than baby boomers at that age and 8.4 points lower than Generation X.
There?s no single reason for relatively low millennial homeownership. Rather, it?s a confluence of socioeconomic trends that serves as an impediment to millennials purchasing a piece of the American dream.
Millennials like living in high-cost cities where homeownership is out of reach
?Millennials prefer to rent? because of their freewheeling, wayward lifestyle is an oft-peddled narrative. The Urban Institute?s report concludes that preferences toward homeownership among millennials have likely had an impact, but ?might not have changed as significantly as some have ...