These days, housing affordability is a struggle for nearly everyone.
But for young adults just starting out, soaring home prices and sky-high rents have become one of the greatest obstacles to making it on their own.
Nearly one-third, or 31%, of Generation Z adults live at home with parents because they can’t afford to buy or rent their own space, according to a recent report by Intuit Credit Karma that polled 1,249 people age 18 and older. Gen Z is generally defined as those born between 1996 and 2012, including a cohort of teens and tweens.
“The current housing market has many Americans making adjustments to their living situations, including relocating to less-expensive cities and even moving back in with their families,” said Courtney Alev, Intuit Credit Karma’s consumer financial advocate.
Overall, the number of households with two or more adult generations has been on the rise for years, according to a Pew Research Center report. Now, 25% of young adults live in a multigenerational household, up from just 9% five decades ago.
No shit.
Story Time: Right before the Covid lockdown there were dozens of condos for sale in my area for under $200k. Today, the only available condos are $596k (800sqft).
The prices in my area are like that, and it’s cheaper to BUY. But since wages didn’t go up, few youth can afford that down payment or monthly payment. Meanwhile, buildings are empty.
Many people are more than capable of doing the monthly payments. We are all paying rent that is more than double a mortgage payment.
Cheapest thing in my area that isn’t falling down is like 600k for a 100 year old home with bad plumbing. I wouldn’t WANT to live there. My apartment is cheaper than the mortgage on that and it’s nicer.