What was the impact of the housing bubble on the American
psyche? Is the American dream of
homeownership no longer held in high regard?
Are millennials less likely to want to own a home when they saw their
parents lose their home to foreclosure?
In the aftermath of the Great Recession, many experts
believe that young people will be more likely to grow up to be renters rather
than homeowners. There are advantages to
renting: mobility; low maintenance; and less
responsibility. All of those are aspects
are associated with the characteristics of young people which is why there
might be a belief that young people will grow up to be renters.
So will more young people grow up to be renters? The key is that eventually young people do
“grow up,” and when they do their lives change.
They get married, have children, and then they want some stability. Their kids enroll in school and suddenly they
are less mobile and take on more responsibility. The characteristics of the millennial
generation that experts say will result in more renters are really just
characteristics of young people. While
the stability that parents seek for their families is less secure if they don’t
own the home they live in.
The recession was a major setback for many people. It did in fact reduce the rate of
homeownership in America. But it is this
author’s belief that most Americans still want to own a home, and when they are
in a financial position to own a home they will do so.
