A 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 IndustryAt 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 IndustryBoomers can be described as two generations in one. Leading Edge Boomers (or Early Boomers, b.1946-1954) and Late Boomers (or “Generation Jones,” b.1955-64) often exhibit different traits and tendencies as consumers. Their current attitudes about real estate highlight the differences between older and younger Boomers perfectly. A recent Coldwell Banker survey shows Leading Edge Boomers to be a generation preparing for retirement – downsizing, consolidating, conserving – while Late Boomers are still ambitious and acquisitive. According to the survey, only 6 percent of agents surveyed say their older Boomer clients are looking to upgrade, while 31 report that younger Boomer… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, Real Estate, Training IndustryA 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