Dive Brief:
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The idea that millennials don’t want to own homes is a myth, and it won’t be long until more of them do, Money magazine contends in a new report.
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Money’s analysis of Zillow data on millennial homeowners reveals that young married couples in two-income households are just as likely to own homes now as at any other time in history. The reason homeownership in that age group is below normal, Money says, is because so few of its members are married.
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A young, single adult is less likely to be able to save a down payment and make monthly mortgage payments than two married adults who work full-time, he says.
Dive Insight:
Because millennials are delaying marriage, more of them live with roommates or family members. The result, says Zillow Chief Economist Stan Humphries, is a loss of 54 million newly formed households.
The silver lining, he says: “Like a coiled spring, all of these doubled-up households represent tremendous potential energy for the market. If and when these compressed households begin to unwind and these millions of Americans do start to create their own households, demand will bounce back, possibly even causing household growth to outpace population growth.”