Skipping rent
The majority of US millennials can no longer count themselves as members of generation rent. New analysis revealed that 2022 was the first year that buyers outweighed renters in the cohort, with 51.5% of millennials now owning their own place.
However, while millennial homeownership is at an all-time high in America, many in the generation clearly feel the reality of getting a foot on the property ladder is still some way off, with 18% reportedly “planning to rent forever”.
Buying up
Prospective buyers benefited from a more affordable housing market during the pandemic as mortgage rates dropped to historic lows. Although that brief window of affordability has slammed shut, millions of millennials used the opportunity to take the plunge and snap up homes in recent years.
Per data analysis from RentCafe, an apartment listing service, there are now 18.2 million millennial homeowners in the US, a 28% increase on the figure from 2019. The number of millennials with their own place now outweighs those who have a landlord by 1 million, after 300,000 people left rental arrangements in 2022. Somewhat predictably, baby boomers still dominate the property market, making up over 40% of American homeowners.
If Gen Z struggles on the property-purchasing front as much as millennials have historically, Zers will have to wait until 2038 before the majority of them have their own place.
