Pook's Message - 6/24/14

I find today's Keeping Current Matters article about Millennials (born 1980-1995) in the real estate market to be quite interesting.  The article refers to a recent report put out by the National Association of REALTORS® that indicates that Millennials make up 31% of Buyers and 12% of Sellers nationally.  While many Millennials are actually not diving into the real estate market today due to huge student loan and credit card debt, and lack of savings, there does appear to be a significant number who are, at least, dipping their toes in.  According to Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, "the Millennial generation, which is under the age of 34, is now entering the peak period in which people typically buy a first home. 'Given that Millennials are the largest generation in history after the baby boomers, it means there is a potential for strong underlying demand. Moreover, their aspiration and the long-term investment aspect to owning a home remain solid among young people,' he said.  “However, the challenges of tight credit, limited inventory, eroding affordability and high debt loads have limited the capacity of young people to own."  In an April 29th Wall Street Journal article, Conor Dougherty noted that "the U.S. homeownership rate hit its lowest level since the mid-1990s, according to a Census release that showed that despite two years of recovery in the housing market there are still fewer homeowners than there were before the recession.  But the data also suggest that "more young people are moving out of their parents' home and into rentals--a positive first step toward an eventual recovery in the share of households that own their home."