"The housing market only continues to look more bleak for younger generations-and it shows. The average age for a first-time homebuyer recently jumped to 40, signaling the housing market is starved for affordability. And younger generations are so disappointed and frustrated by the state of the housing market they're spending more of their earnings than they're saving, working less, and making risky investments, according to a recently published paper by Northwestern University and University of Chicago researchers."
"In other words, younger generations are "giving up." That's according to Northwestern's Seung Hyeong Lee and Chicago's Younggeun Yoo, who also cited a 2024 Harris Poll survey about the state of real estate that showed 42% of Americans and 46% of Gen Z respondents agreed with this statement: "No matter how hard I work, I will never be able to afford a home I really love.""
Average age for a first-time homebuyer recently rose to 40, signaling severe housing unaffordability. Younger generations are spending more of their earnings than they are saving, working less, and making riskier investments. Surveys show 42% of Americans and 46% of Gen Z agree that no matter how hard they work, they will never be able to afford a home they really love. Many younger households have crossed a threshold at which they abandon plans to buy a home. A sense of financial nihilism emerges amid stagnant wages, student loan debt, corporate dominance, a housing crisis, and repeated economic downturns.
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