A lot has been written about the effects of Baby Boomers retiring en masse over the next couple of decades – on employers, on markets, on healthcare, etc. Now, a new analysis from the Metropolitan Research Center suggests that aging Boomers selling off their homes will lead to the next big crisis in the housing market. Over the last few decades of the 20th Century, Boomers drove demand for single-family homes and accounted for most of that market. As they retire, they will begin to sell those homes but the market for them will be considerably smaller. First, the generation… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, Home Ownership, WorkA new study by the St. Louis Fed takes a look at the housing crisis, particularly foreclosures, and finds a mixture of predatory lending and household overreach to blame. The hardest-hit demographic has been Generation X and, according to the Fed, Xers share some of the blame. Generation X has been the most likely to be foreclosed but also the most likely to have overreached. The median age of a foreclosed homeowner is 44. The least likely to be foreclosed: Boomers with a median age of 52. The most surprising finding of the study, though, is that many Xers overreached… Read More
Categories: Home Ownership, Real Estate, Recession EconomyClick on title above to see my recap from a recent conference in Victoria, Canada on how to appeal to different generations of home buyers. Enjoy!
Categories: Home Ownership, Real Estate, Training IndustryMillennials have always been slow to reach the milestones of adulthood. As more of them become adults, the age of first marriage and the age of first-time home buying has steadily crept up. Now, the recession has slowed them down even more as they struggle to find jobs and become financially independent. And that is hampering the housing recovery, according to an analysis by the Washington Post. Census data shows that the recession has slowed the rate of formation of new households by 50%, leaving at least 2 million homes unoccupied that might have normally been inhabited (about two thirds… Read More
Categories: Home Ownership, Real Estate, Recession Economy, Training IndustryWe’ve typically characterized Millennials as an optimistic generation but that outlook may not survive their present circumstances. According to a widely publicized Newsweek story, Millennials are now America’s most “screwed” generation. The story cites a host of scary statistics: Millennials’ net worth fell 37% from 2005-2010 (Matures’ fell 13%). The wealth gap between Millennials and Matures is the highest on record. They have the highest unemployment rate at 12%, and it’s worse for younger Millennials Their average credit card and other debt is nearly $13,000 The typical student loan burden is $27,000 Only about half of graduates are able to… Read More
Categories: Home Ownership, Recession Economy, Training IndustryMillennials aren’t buying, at least not big ticket items, according to an Atlantic Monthly analysis that calls them the “The Cheapest Generation.” The number of twenty-somethings who buy cars is off nearly a third from its peak. Even the number of teenagers with a driver’s license is down nearly 30% in the last ten years. Home-buying numbers are similar. The number of people under 35 buying homes is down by 12%. Millennials are a generation short on money, with a heavy debt load and grim job prospects. But, in addition to not having the money for big-ticket items, Millennials don’t… Read More
Categories: Blog, Home OwnershipAt least 20% of Baby Boomers are helping their Millennial children or grandchildren realize the dream of homeownership, according to a Better Homes and Gardens survey. One in five Boomers surveyed had gifted, loaned, or co-signed in support of a Millennial’s purchase of a home. More than two-thirds expressed a desire to provide such support in the future to their children or grandchildren, many intending to do so on multiple occasions. This growing trend highlights a generational imbalance in wealth – Matures and Boomers have accumulated a lot of it whereas Millennials are finding it more difficult to get hold… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, Home Ownership, Real Estate, Training IndustryMillennials are starting to feel like the dream of home ownership is just that – a dream. As the leading edge of the generation moves into its 30s, many of them are still finding the goal of owning a home elusive. According to the Federal Reserve, only 9% of 29-34 year olds got a mortgage between 2009 and 2011. That’s about half the rate of a decade ago for the same age group. According to CreditKarma.com, only 11% of twenty-somethings have a mortgage compared with figure of 30% for all consumers. Millennials are victims of a perfect storm that’s keeping… Read More
Categories: Home Ownership, Matures, Recession EconomyA new study by the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Housing Commission sees many Baby Boomers selling their homes as age, downsize, and retire. The study projects that Boomers will divest themselves of as many as 26 million housing units over the next 20 years. The problem is that the generation that should now be entering the market for homes, the Millennials, are not generally in a position to afford them. As we noted last week, a combination of high real estate values, lower real wages, tight credit, and high indebtedness is preventing many Millennials from realizing the dream of owning a… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, Home Ownership, Real Estate