Is it avocado toast? Surely, millennials have more valid reasons why less than a third of them are homeowners in the U.S. per data crunched and analyzed by ABODO. What’s stopping them from buying a home and why is this number decreasing?
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The ABODO Analysis
Millennials, ABODO noted, make up the adult generation now. In 2015, 32.1% of the millennial generation aged 18 to 35 bought homes. Ten years back and 39.5% in that age group were already homeowners per the apartment listing service company.
Take a look at the metropolitan statistical areas or the largest metros in the U.S. with the most and least likely millennial homeowners.
Top 10 MSAs Where Most Millennials Bought Homes
| MSA | Percentage of Millennial Homeowners |
| 1. Ogden-Clearfield, UT | 51.0% |
| 2. Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI | 45.3% |
| 3. Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | 43.6% |
| 4. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX | 43.3% |
| 5. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 42.4% |
| 6. Scranton-Wilkes-Barre-Hazleton, PA | 41.9% |
| 7. Baton Rouge, LA | 41.0% |
| 8.Boise City, ID | 40.6% |
| 9.Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | 40.2% |
| 10. St. Louis, MO-IL | 40.2% |
Compare this to the ten MSAs where the least number of millennials bought homes.
Top 10 MSAs Where Least Millennials Bought Homes
| MSA | Percentage of Millennial Homeowners |
| 1. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 17.8% |
| 2. Urban Honolulu, HI | 18.3% |
| 3. San Diego – Carlsbad, CA | 19.8% |
| 4. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | 19.8% |
| 5. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 20.2% |
| 6. San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA | 20.5% |
| 7. Fresno, CA | 23.6% |
| 8. New Haven-Milford, CT | 24.4% |
| 9. Madison, WI | 24.7% |
| 10. Durham-Chapel Hill, NC | 25.2% |
More Than Just Avocado Toast
A mix of expensive home prices and costs that make rent seem more affordable were behind the slowing homeownership pace among today’s adults. And this trend is not unique to the millennial generation as ABODO noted Generation Xers could have started this declining trend in homeownership a few years past.
In defense of avocado, Oregon Live listed down several factors that prevent millennials from taking a step forward to becoming homeowners. These are:
1. Heavy student debt
2. Low wages
3. Expensive homes
4. Borrowing from Mom and Dad is not an option
5. Non-traditional employment
6. Lack of desire to buy a home
7. Low supply of homes for sale
8. Record-high rents
9. Other priorities for savings
As ABODO pointed, it would take years for millennials to save up or afford a home’s down payment, a hurdle for all ages.
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