Gen X Home Ownership Likely to Stay Low

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | TUESDAY, APRIL 12, 2016

Generation X suffered the most compared to any other age segment during the housing crisis, and they’re still in the process of recovering. In fact, home ownership rates will likely stay low for Generation X – those born between 1965 and 1984 – for years to come, according to a study by the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies.

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Generation X has gone from being the most successful in terms of home ownership rates in 2004 to the least by 2015. In 2004, Gen Xers aged 25 to 34 at the time had a home ownership rate of 49.5 percent, the highest compared to any other age group, according to U.S. Census data. But last year, the home ownership rate for the now 35-to-44-year old age group fell to a more than three-decade low of 58.5 percent.

Baby boomers, who entered the housing market prior to the housing crisis in the early 2000s, have fared better in the aftermath than Gen Xers.

Generation X "came into the market at precisely the wrong time," says Rick Sharga, executive vice president at Ten-X.com, an online real-estate brokerage. "We've effectively wiped out a group of home owners who historically would have been on their second or third properties by now."

As such, housing analysts have mostly centered their talks on the millennials, those born between 1985 to 2004. Generation X consists of around 83 million people compared to the larger 87 million that make up the millennial cohort. By 2025, millennials are expected to grow to 93 million too, due to immigration. Generation X is expected to stay the same number. Housing analysts are betting on the millennials to have the largest impact on the housing market.

However, they may need Gen Xers to get moving. As Generation X continues to recover from the housing crisis, fewer middle-aged buyers are trading up with their homes. That is contributing to the severely limited inventory of homes available, which is plaguing many housing markets.

Source: “Housing Bust Lingers for Generation X,” The Wall Street Journal (April 9, 2016) [Log-in required]