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Millennials are marrying later, having children later and buying homes later than previous American generations — and that’s if they marry, have children or buy a home at all. Housing, which was once considered fair game on a single income, is now out of reach for even many dual-income couples.
While observers blame a range of factors, Straight Arrow News contributor Tim Carney reminds us to stay focused on the heart of the problem: the cost of housing itself. To resolve this, Carney advises a shift of practices and priorities in government policy at all levels.
“Failure to Launch.” That’s the story for much of the millennial generation and Generation Z. They’re getting married later and starting families later. Worst of all, many people in their 20s and 30s say they want a family but simply can’t afford it.
Some older folks are skeptical of this excuse. After all, even after adjusting for inflation, millennials in their 30s have about as much wealth as Gen X did at the same age and more than baby boomers did. Yes, college tuitions are up. But the average college graduate in 2021 has only about $6,500 more in debt than did the average graduate 20 years ago. But you know where life really is getting more expensive? Housing, and that is no small problem.
Rents have doubled in 20 years, while incomes have increased by only one-third. Home prices have almost doubled, and the end of low mortgage rates has made homeownership even less affordable. More precisely, we are seeing the disappearance of the starter home, the small, affordable, two-to-three-bedroom home, either a single-family house or a duplex. The baby boom was sparked in part by the mass construction of 1,000-square-foot colonials and Cape Cods, but nobody’s building those anymore.
If we want to help young people start and grow families, and we should, then we need to ask how to make affordable starter homes a reality again.
