A new study by PropertyShark found members of Generation Z, or individuals born after 1995, are more interested in owning a home than their millennial predecessors. After surveying Gen Z, the study showed 83% plan on buying a home in the next five years. Millennials, on the other hand, “are pessimistic about the prospect of homeownership,” the New York Post says. Although both generations are crippled with debt, the interest for Gen Z is promising.
Millennials are more likely to rent even as they age. That’s one reason they struggle with homeownership: The money they put toward monthly rents — which are at record-high levels nationwide — makes it hard to cobble together enough for down payments. Coupled with college loans to pay back and worries about credit scores, jaded millennials don’t prioritize buying a home. Gen Zers are also more likely than their older counterparts to consider the suburbs.
Remember, even the oldest Gen Zers are 23, making them perhaps an overly idealistic bunch. (And those who do invest in real estate now are likely supported by parents.) But don’t doubt their follow-through. Earlier this year, MarketWatch reported that about 100,000 Gen Zers are homeowners, and of those, only 1.2 percent are more than 60 days late on their mortgage payments. A higher percentage of millennials and Gen Xers (born before 1980) run behind on their payments.
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