- Many baby boomers are fixated on large homes and are focusing on the housing market for younger buyers.
- Buying a home has become even more difficult for millennials as their families grow.
- For Biden and Trump, the issue of housing affordability could make or break their candidacies.
For baby boomers growing their families in the 1980s and 1990s, homeownership was the natural next step in adulthood.
But years later, when their children left home to pursue their dreams, many baby boomers remained in large homes. And they aren't going anywhere, at least not in the near future.
Millennials looking to buy a home today, especially those who now have children of their own, have a difficult road ahead. The tight housing market has effectively prevented them from buying a home within their budget, and high interest rates aren't helping either.
However, many baby boomers are choosing to continue living in large estates, as some are still working and others are trying to get through their impending retirement. And many of these homes continue to rise in value, causing baby boomers to think twice about downsizing.
According to a Redfin analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data, 28% of U.S. homes with three or more bedrooms are owned by empty nesters between the ages of 60 and 78. Millennials with children own 14% of similarly sized properties, and the difference is staggering. .
But what does this mean for the 2024 election, especially as Gen Z and Millennial voters are effectively priced out of so many housing markets?
tower on the sand
Home construction stalled during the housing crisis, creating a shortage of new homes for growing families.
And just last week, mortgage rates rose to nearly 7%, according to the Wall Street Journal. Compare this number to his 2020, when the average interest rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage was just 3.38%.
Due to the current housing shortage and less-than-ideal mortgage rates, many millennial families are not enjoying the same quality of life as their parents.
Millennials also grew up with rising costs of higher education, and many are still paying off student loan debt. Some people are paying off record credit card debt.
According to the Journal, boomers are less likely to have credit card debt than millennials.
That's because many Gen Z and Millennial voters are dissatisfied with leaders in Washington, who many see as unwilling to address some of their generation's most pressing issues. It means.
President Joe Biden has sought to emphasize housing affordability during his campaign, recently giving a major speech in Nevada about his administration's efforts to build new units. But for now, many voters between the ages of 18 and 44 are unenthusiastic about the administration, which could benefit former President Donald Trump despite the left-leaning leanings of many younger voters. be.
Trump has continued to tout the economic successes of his pre-pandemic years, but he has won the support of many millennials who flatly rejected the Republican Party in the 2016 and 2020 elections. It remains to be seen whether this will be possible.
However, one thing is certain. There is still not enough housing.
