Millennial Homeownership: Why Is It So Low, and How Can We Increase It?

"Millennials are less likely to be homeowners than baby boomers and Gen Xers. The homeownership rate among millennials ages 25 to 34 is 8 percentage points lower than baby boomers and 8.4 percentage points lower than Gen Xers in the same age group."

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The report recommends policy to "enhance financial knowledge and homeowner awareness by providing accessible and engaging online training and well-designed financial education at the high school and college levels."

"Our special study on intergenerational patterns indicates that young adults are more likely to be homeowners if their parents are homeowners. Parental wealth also increases the likelihood of homeownership among young adults. Because minorities are less likely to be homeowners and have less wealth, differences in intergenerational transfer of homeownership provides an additional explanation for the persistent disparities in homeownership across racial and ethnic groups. It also illustrates the need to increase the minority homeownership rate, as homeownership allows not only the current generation but future generations access to what has been the best way to build wealth."