Millennial Homeownership Headwinds Worrisome for Future

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Yet the researchers also found that even among white households that are married, with children, and even with substantial income, the homeownership rate is 2 to 3 percentage points lower than earlier generations.  Obviously other factors are at play, some of them defined as attitudinal.

The preference of educated Millennials to move to more expensive urban centers has contributed to their lower homeownership rate.  In high-cost cities the housing supply is inelastic and within large metro areas, Young adults additionally migrate to the counties with a more urban environment where prices have increased more than in surrounding areas.  This shift in preference was mostly observed among those who are higher educated. The supply of affordable housing has declined overall during the last decade, but this is especially true in areas where Millennials prefer to live.

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Obtaining a mortgage has become more challenging over the last ten years. The process is unwieldy, and underwriting has not adapted to the unstable and non-traditional labor market and tightening credit standards.