Unsettled: Millennials delaying homeownership amid financial hurdles

Business

Unsettled: Millennials delaying homeownership amid financial hurdles

Short of cash and unsettled in their careers, young Americans are waiting longer than ever to buy their first homes. The typical first-timer now rents for six years before buying a home, up from 2.6 years in the early 1970s, according to a new analysis by the real estate data firm Zillow. The median first-time buyer is age 33 — in the upper range of the millennial generation, which roughly spans ages 18 to 34. A generation ago, the median first-timer was about three years younger. The delay reflects a trend that cuts to the heart of the financial challenges facing millennials: Renters are struggling to save for down payments. Increasingly, too, they’re facing delays in some key landmarks of adulthood, from marriage and children to a stable career, according to industry and government reports.

Millennials are “still very interested in buying a house, but they’re delaying that decision,” said Svenja Gudell, chief economist at Zillow. Few first-timers around the country can lean on their parents. Among homebuyers last year under age 34, 14 percent received down payment help from family or friends. Most first-timers still depend on personal savings for at least some of their down payments. However, rising rental prices at roughly twice the pace of average hourly wage growth have complicated the task of socking away money for a down payment.