Millennials want to own homes too, if the US economy would allow it

Kelsey Marshall and her boyfriend, Chris Eidam, both 27 years old, call the home-buying process “terrifying”. But they are clear about one thing – it beats the heck out of renting.

“We’re wasting money where we are right now”, near Bridgeport, Connecticut, Eidam said. “We just take our rent and we throw it away. That money doesn’t go to anything.”

Contrary to much of what is written about them, millennials have many of the same attitudes towards housing as their parents and grandparents. Most say they want to eventually own homes, and only rent because of financial necessity. They even appear to be choosing more traditional houses in the suburbs over renting or buying in city centres.

But home ownership rates are still near record lows, several percentage points down from before the housing bust, even after one of the longest economic expansions on record. And that is not because of some mindset among millennials – it is because of the economy they came of age in.

For now, property agents are celebrating a small but noticeable uptick in buying among millennials, the United States’ largest age group. For two straight quarters, the home ownership rate among those of ages 35 and younger has increased.

That shows that millennials are “getting back into the game”, said Ralph McLaughlin, the chief economist at residential real estate listings site Trulia. “In the long run, we expect millennials to own homes at rates of their parents or close to it,” he said. “It’s just that they’re experiencing headwinds.”