Unusual Whales

The number of millennials planning to rent forever has gone up

Unusual Whales -

Per Bloomberg

The number of millennials that aren't looking to buy homes and plan to rent forever has increased. Three years ago, the number was just one in seven, but now, it is nearly one in four.

This came from a survey by Apartment List, which showed how millennial renters became the minority. The number has almost doubled from the 13% in 2010 to 24% in 2022.

Here are the reasons why millennials said they would rent forever.

  • Millennials that said they couldn't afford a home increased from 69% in 2018 to 74% in 2022.
  • Millennials who preferred flexibility increased from 42% in 2018 to 27% in 2022.
  • Millennials that wanted to avoid home maintenance and other costs increased from 36% in 2018 to 26% in 2022.
  • Millennials that thought buying a home was financially risky increased from 29% in 2018 to 19% in 2022.

Out of the other millennial renters, 76% plan to buy a home despite the increasing affordability problem. The survey also found that despite millennial renters wanting to purchase a home in the future, they are still far from their goal.

Millennial debt increased to $4 trillion after a 27% hike in 2019. The $4 trillion debt of millennials was part of the $16.9 trillion total American debt.

Other factors that contributed to the debt were gas, child care, and food, among others. During that report, a Yahoo Finance reporter said there were other ways millennials could pay off the debt, including using a tax refund.

Millennials used to be the top homebuyers, but in 2023, Baby Boomers took over as they purchased more homes than millennials. In 2023, Baby Boomers were responsible for 39% of homebuyers.

In 2021, older and younger millennials made up 43% of the market share. In 2022, millennials made up just 28% of homebuyers. In 2023, Gen Z buyers also increased to 4%.

See flow at unusualwhales.com/flow.

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Resources:

Bloomberg

Apartment List