It seems that the American dream of home ownership is alive and well.
Much has been said about this group (ages 18-34) renting and not being in a hurry to buy a home. One reason is heavy level of student debt.
But it seems that they still view owning a home as an important goal. Among millennial renters 82 percent said they were confident or somewhat confident that they will be able to afford to own a home someday, compared to 64 percent of Generation X renters (those aged 35-49) and just 48 percent of Baby Boomer renters (aged 50-64). Millennials overall were also far more optimistic about future home value appreciation. One-third of millennials (33 percent) said they expected home values to rise more than 6 percent per year over the next decade, compared to 21 percent of Generation X and just 15 percent of Baby Boomers.
Almost two-thirds (65 percent) of millennials agreed with the statement that owning a home is necessary to living the “good life” and is central to the American dream, compared to 56 percent of Generation X and 55 percent of Baby Boomers. Roughly 46 percent of millennials agreed that owning a home is necessary to be a respected member of society, compared to 38 percent of Generation X and 30 percent of Baby Boomers.
So there is hope for home prices to rise in the future like they usually do. Nothing has changed. People still want to own rather than buy given the choice.
