Millennials and the housing market

HENLEY DOHERTY | ASST. BUSINESS EDITOR | THE USD VISTA | @hensolo_

Getting settled into your first college dorm was a pretty big deal, and if you live off campus, renting your first apartment or beach house was also pretty exciting.

If you live in a house off campus, odds are you’re renting it, and if you’re like most millennials, you might continue to rent homes for years after graduation. Most millennials in their 20s and 30s are staying out of the home buying market, which is most likely due to the rocky economy, rising costs in the housing market, and the immense student loan debt countless college graduates face. With these things in mind, it’s understandable why so many are more than hesitant to purchase a home.

Over time, Americans have tended to start families later in their lives, and it makes sense to wait to invest in a home until you settle down. To save money, millennials are more likely to continue renting apartments and small homes. With services such as Airbnb, renting an apartment or room to stay has never been easier. While many students use Airbnb to  book a place in Palm Springs for Coachella, millennials well out of college use services similar  to rent short-term places to stay, especially when they are on the move and hunting for jobs. Airbnb also makes travel easier and cheaper, so we’re less likely to stay in any one place, much less buy a house.

While many news sources and real estate firms urge young Americans to jump into the housing market right away, I think this advice should be taken with a grain of salt. Buying a house is a major milestone on the path to independent adulthood, but it isn’t a priority for most of us graduating college and moving into our careers. The idea of purchasing a starter home isn’t as important to us as it may have been for our parents and grandparents.

After our time at USD, many of us will most likely  wait until we have settled into our new career paths and have a secure income before we start the search for our first permanent home.