Millennials are giving up on the thought of ever buying a house and experts estimate fewer will become homeowners
Millennials are giving up on this life stage, research shows
- A new research paper indicates that the millennial generation is increasingly giving up on the prospect of homeownership, with experts predicting fewer will achieve the “American Dream”.
- Economists Seung Hyeong Lee and Younggeun Yoo estimate that only about 74 per cent of people born in 1990 will own a home by retirement, a notable decline from the nearly 84 per cent of those born in 1950.
- The study, which focused on individuals born in the 1990s, revealed that approximately 15 per cent of the US population has already abandoned the idea of homeownership by the age of 30.
- The research suggests that a decreased belief in homeownership leads to higher consumption relative to wealth, less effort in jobs, and riskier investments, though spending may also be directed towards family support or children's enrichment.
- Experts propose solutions such as better communication of existing government assistance programmes and addressing the significant shortage of housing units, with one economist estimating a need for an additional 2 million homes.