Millennials have found the solution to affording a down payment on first-time homes in a volatile market: shacking up with their parents. According to the Washington Post, more than a fifth of millennials living with their parents by choice are saving up for their own down payment. The National Association of Realtors says 2022 hit an all-time high of first-time home buyers moving from a family or friend's house into their own (27%). And while that share skewed down to 23% in 2023, it's remained high compared to past data.
As this trend increases, Fortune reports that the stigma of moving back in with the 'rents is lifting. A recent Bloomberg and Harris Poll survey found that close to 90% of Americans don't think young adults living with parents is anything to judge. After graduating into a recession, millennials—the oldest of them are in their early 40s, per Mental Floss—hit a host of post-collegiate problems, including the pandemic. But housing remains one of the trickier nuts to crack. The median rent of a one-bedroom apartment reached $1,500 in the US, with bigger cities like New York demanding up to $4,300 monthly.
"The cost of renting a place is very prohibitive for young adults," says NAR's Jessica Lautz. "And they may have decided during a pandemic: Why should I rent? Why don't I just live at home?" The strategy is apparently working: Forbes notes that 2022 was the first year in which more than 50% of millennials were homeowners. (Boomers, however, are still edging out younger buyers in the current market.)
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