The millennial generation, which includes Americans in their late-teens, twenties and early thirties, if often blamed for the profound decline in home buying. America’s homeownership rate has been in declining since two thousand and five, but that’s not just because of millennials.
Data indicate that homeownership within Generation X, which includes Americans between the ages of thirty five to fifty four, has declined the most of any age group since nineteen ninety three – this according to Harvard’s State of the Nation’s Housing Report. This may be an instance of once burned, twice shy. The housing market peaked roughly a decade ago just as many members of Generation X were purchasing their first home.
The housing crisis struck this group hard, particularly since many of them had used the bulk of their savings to supply a down payment. This helps explain why the number of homeowners aged thirty five to forty four has declined twenty three percent from ten years ago. Rather than buying, many Generation Xers, who are approaching their peak earning years, are staying in the rental market longer.
