Millennials are even more interested in buying homes than their parents, they are slower to buy due to a set of financial challenges

Megan Gorman
https://www.forbes.com


There is a seismic shift in the real estate market and it’s all due to the Millennial generation.

“Millennials have represented the largest share of the home buying market for the past five years in a row with the 2018 share at 36%,” says Anna DeSimone, author of Housing Finance 2020 and a housing advocate.

It’s no secret that, compared to previous generations, Millennials are late to the home buying game. Both their parents and the press lament that many Millennials either live at home or are simply more content to be renters. As a result, there is a perception that owning a home was not a priority of this generation. But the real answer might be simpler.

“Affording a home, one could argue, was relatively easier for the previous generation,” says Farnoosh Torabi, Personal Finance Expert and Host of the highly rated SoMoney Podcast which focuses on Millennial money issues.

Even though Millennials have been adults in a consistently low interest rate environment, the barrier to entry to the real estate market has been high for this generation.

Torabi explains it quite simply as a perfect storm. “While research suggests Millennials are even more interested in buying homes than their parents, they are slower to buy due to a set of financial challenges, which include student loans and credit card debt, as well as an inability to save up for a down payment,” she says. “Wages have been pretty stagnant, on average, over the last 15 years, all while the cost of living, education and housing has skyrocketed.”

Yet like everything that Millennials have faced, they are about to revolutionize home buying and put their own personal stamp on it. And in some instances, they may be rewarded for their patience by some unique partners.