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A survey conducted by Realtor.com from January 1 to June 15 of this year has revealed that the likelihood of millennials entering the housing market is growing.
Jonathan Smoke, the website’s chief economist, has stated that as we approach the second half of the year, residential real estate is on track for its best year since 2006, supported partly by expected buyer activity from the 25-34 age group.
In a panel at the National Association of Real Estate Editors, Smoke discussed the survey’s findings. He stated, “Additionally, we’re observing an uptick in millennial traffic and sentiment that we expect will result in more first-time buyer sales in the later part of the year.”
The traffic Smoke refers to is the fact that Realtor.com activity for millennials intending to purchase a home increased to 23 percent in June, from 21 percent in January. The website also saw a six percent drop in those looking to rent a property during the same time period. However small, these numbers are heartening.
Smoke asserted that the millennial generation is considering home ownership with increased seriousness and viability. Consistently rising rent prices may be a driving factor in prompting this age group to enter the housing market, as well as personal responsibilities such as marriage and children.
In January, 54 percent of millennials participating in the study reported they were planning to purchase a home within the next three months, a number that increased to 65 percent by mid-June.
Factors that have kept millennials out of the market—things like rising student loan debt, lack of down payment funds, and inadequate credit scores—may apply less to this older age group, who attended college a decade before the younger generation, and have had that much more time to accommodate themselves in the professional world.
Born between 1981 and 1990, these older millennials have the numbers and circumstances to energize the housing market. Obstacles to buying a home apply especially to this group, but there are positive signs that suggest they will be capable of overcoming them.