Home Ownership is Fleeting
Millennials are less likely to claim home ownership by age 30 than baby boomers at the same age. A report by the Standford Center on Longevity that 48% of Baby Boomers owned homes by thirty versus 36% of Millennials.
A huge factor that plays into this figure is the number of unmarried Millennials – 55% of married Millennials own homes while only 19% of single Millennials do. The average age of marriage is rising – where in the 1950’s and 60’s the average age was 20, now the average age is 27.4 and rising according to the US Census Bureau historical marital status tables.
Other factors are increased housing costs, high student debt, and need for some workers to relocate.
Who Benefits?
The largest beneficiary, in my view, of lower home ownership is the landlord or corporation who rents out their home or apartment. As home ownership decreases, you’ll see the rise of more publicly traded REITS which take investor money, plop down new apartment units, and pay a share of the profits to their investors while driving away private investors through economy of scale price reductions. Private investors can employ a strategy involving buying, rehab/renovating, renting, and then refinancing to chain purchase multiple investment properties. As competition between private and public investors increases, the prices for properties goes up – further distancing potential first time home buyers. As long as there is a strong rental demand, the potential for cashflow means investors may buy in bulk.
Who Suffers?
Renters who pay more in rent than they otherwise would pay on a mortgage gain no principal ownership in their residence. While they may forgo having to fix home appliances and heating/plumbing they will gain nothing when they leave. Home owners with typical 30 year loans will have principal invested into their home and may be fortunate enough to have their house sell for more than it was purchased for. Historically house price appreciation is the norm, especially for homes in good locations. Depreciation of the house structure is usually offset by the appreciation of land value that the house sits on.
Renters are also at the whims of the landlord or property management company as to when their rents will go up. When I first started working my rent started at $880 in Atlanta and it went up to $1000 by the time I left 3 years later. This was not because they had improved the property – in fact the property slowly got worse. The reason they could increase rent is because demand was up – population growth and an influx of new younger workers means more people looking for rent. It is simply business.
What Should Younger People Do?
First off, everyone should choose what they want to do with their own lives. I can’t dictate that someone should study engineering rather than political science as much as I can force you to like the color orange more than brown. However, as this website aims to help people get a higher return on their money I would 100% encourage younger people to buy a home rather than rent one. I would ask them to take advantage of the historically low interest rates and get a low interest rate mortgage which limits how much the bank can increase interest rates. Pay a mortgage of equivalent value to what they’re paying in rent and look to save money and buy a rental property. Take advantage of the fact that your peers are renting and rent to them instead of from them.