Millennials Jumping Into Market as Boomers Retire and Sell

Last month, I wrote about how improvements in the housing market will be different depending on geographic regions of the U.S. This month, I wanted to review how this gradual improvement will also differ based on demographics and generational shifts.

For all of 2016, the share of first-time buyers rebounded to 35 percent – a three-point improvement over 2015 levels -- as well as a positive rebound for this cohort’s historical 40-percent share of the market. 

Obviously, encouraging first-time buyers to grab that first rung of the housing ladder is important, as they can then roll future equity gains into move-up homes, vacation homes and eventually senior housing, which continued to account for 14 percent of sales.

The typical buyer in 2016 was 44 years old, a figure which has remained flat for three years, but the median household income rose again to $88,500. Two-thirds of these buyers were married couples, followed distantly by single women (17 percent), unmarried couples (8 percent) and single men (7 percent).

So what kind of homes did they buy?

Just 17 percent of new homes sold in 2016 were priced under $200,000, for a drop of two percentage points from 2015. A larger drop of three percentage points was noted for new homes priced from $200,000 to $300,000 (32 to 29 percent), while new homes priced from $300,000 to $500,000 increased their share from 33 to 38 percent, lending additional proof that the ‘sweet spot’ for home builders is in this first- and second-time move-up market. Meanwhile, the share of more discretionary homes priced over $500,000 remained stable at 16 percent between the two years.

Looking at just December of 2016, the distribution of sales for new homes moved even further in the same direction, with those priced from $200,000 to $500,000 accounting for more than two-thirds of the total, while the share of entry-level units priced under $200,000 eroded further to 14 percent.

Meanwhile, the existing home market – which the NAR says accounted for 86 percent of all home sales in 2016 – seems to remain the favored option for entry-level buyers. During December of 2016, more than four of every ten existing home sales were priced from $100,000 to $250,000, with another 13 percent priced under $100,000. While there is certainly a robust move-up market for existing homes – with 32 percent of December’s sales priced from $250,000 to $500,000 – when existing homeowners are looking to trade in their starter home for something larger or in a better area, about one-third focus on the advantages of new construction.

Looking ahead to the longer term, two primary demographic trends will continue to drive housing demand.

The first is an aging population, with the number of adults aged 70 and over rising by over 90 percent over the next two decades. The challenge here is ensuring a reliable supply of affordable, accessible housing which can also provide the types of supportive and social services needed as the huge Baby Boom generation continues to retire at the rate of 10,000 per day.

The second main trend is the increasing share of the minority population among the 86-million strong Millennial generation, which is already at 45 percent – a bit higher than the 40 percent share among Generation X and significantly more than the 28 percent share among Baby Boomers.

While it is certainly true that Millennials have been postponing starting their own families and buying their own homes, the five-point increase in 2016’s share of homes bought by first-time buyers would indicate this is starting to change. In fact, over the next two decades, this cohort will increase the population of those aged 30 to 49 years by 17 percent.

However, what will be different this time are the types of homes demanded by the significantly larger minority populations versus previous generations.

Although just 11 percent of the homes sold in 2016 were to multi-generational households, this is expected to increase due both to average larger family sizes among minority groups as well as multiple income streams to finance these purchases with traditional mortgage products.

For home sellers – who typically had lived in their homes for 10 years in 2016 – builders of new homes have a unique opportunity to capture their interest, especially since the most-cited reasons include a too-small home (18 percent), a desire to move closer to family and friends (15 percent) or a job relocation (14 percent).With a median net gain of over $43,000, that figure certainly makes a robust down payment for the next purchase.

Where are the first-time homebuyers? Demographic shifts point to delayed milestones.

During the month of September, while both new and existing home sales rose slightly, there was one group which continues to remain somewhat on the sidelines:  the first-time buyer.  According to the National Association of Realtors®, in September the share of first-time buyers was 29 percent for the third straight month. 

Since historically the share of first-time buyers has been closer to 40 percent, given that these buyers have represented less than 30 percent of the market in 17 of the last 18 months, it’s almost certain that this change will have an impact on the housing market in the future.  So just where have these first-time buyers gone, and what are their plans for their housing needs?

For now, most are choosing to rent:  according to the Census Bureau, the share of households age 25 to 29 who owned their own homes fell from nearly 41 percent in 2007 to 34 percent by 2013, which is great for landlords but not for the neighborhood stability which accompanies higher percentages of homeownership.

Not surprisingly, the primary reason they’re choosing to rent for now is economic:  according to the non-profit group Generation Opportunity, unemployment rates for millennials (those born between 1980 and 1995) remain higher than for other age groups.  Even when they do find employment, many jobs are either part-time or offer low, entry-level wages which wouldn’t help them qualify for mortgages.

Considering that the average worker today doesn’t earn the national median salary until age 30 – versus age 26 in 1980 – a four- or five-year delay in reaching traditional milestones such as getting married, starting families and buying homes seems to mirror the temporary disappearance of many first-time homebuyers.  Consequently, if the median age for a first-time homebuyer has been about 31 -- and 47 for a move-up buyer -- any delays in grabbing the first rung of that homeownership ladder are likely to have an impact on future purchases.

In addition, other factors have also been at play here, including tougher mortgage loan standards, a lack of entry-level home inventory, and student loan debt that often must be paid down before buyers can qualify for a mortgage.  Meanwhile, young adults trying to save for down payments must also contend with rising housing costs, with many households paying 30 percent – and much higher in high-cost cities – of their incomes on rent.

Fortunately, despite these considerable headwinds facing young adults, the ongoing speculation that millennials won’t embrace homeownership as much as previous generations simply isn’t true:  It’s simply being delayed.   In fact, according to recent research from Zillow, the dip in first-time home buyers has been much more about long-term changes in family structures that it is about current economic conditions.

If anything, young adults are simply trying to navigate a mortgage system that simply hasn’t kept up with the times.  Given that 90 percent of today’s mortgages are supported by various government programs (up from 40 percent a decade ago), another reason for fewer first-time buyers could simply be a lack of mortgage options which would open up the lending spigot.

Indeed, for married, dual-income couples, the homeownership rate is actually above pre-recession historical levels, whereas it has dropped for the increasingly rare, traditional family structure of two parents who live on a single full-time income.  For young singles, although the rate of homeownership has been mostly flat over the last decade, this rate still seriously lags those of married couples.  Consequently, if the rate of marriage for young adults today stands at about 26 percent – compared with 36 percent of Gen Xers, 48 percent of baby boomers and 65 percent of the Silent Generation at the same age – we certainly shouldn’t be surprised at their delay in settling down and buying homes.

For builders, the challenge is to offer homes today that millennials want, and that means more urban-oriented projects close to transit centers that can effectively compete with upscale rental projects which continue to offer more compelling amenities.

As for the millennials themselves, the future job market is already pivoting towards them, as many of them sat out the poor labor market of the recession by improving their education.  Last year, 34 percent of those aged 25 to 29 held some type of college degree, making them the best-educated cohort since 1968.  With their comfort of the latest technologies and awareness of current cultural tastes, for many employers the combination of these factors at a lower salary than older, more seasoned candidates will prove hard to resist.