Æthelthryth

Most of us Boomers grew up without A/C, dishwashers, 1 phone for a family of 6, 2 or 3 bedrooms for a family of 6, ZERO WELFARE handouts, no wifi, no cable TV, no bottled water or 2 liters soda, no drive thru fast food, no credit cards. We started working at age 16 to buy a used car, or school clothes ... Quit blaming us for the condition of the economy.

Oh look, more anecdotal evidence. Do you understand how statistics work? Millennials (born ~1981-1996) and Gen Z (born ~1997-2012) face significantly worse housing affordability than previous generations due to a combination of skyrocketing home prices outpacing wage growth, high mortgage rates, low housing supply, student debt burdens, and other economic pressures.  Here’s a data-driven breakdown using recent statistics (primarily 2024-2025 data). 1. Home Prices vs. Incomes: The Core Affordability Crisis Home prices have risen much faster than incomes, pushing the price-to-income ratio to historically high levels. • Median U.S. home price: Around $420,000–$428,000+ in recent data (varies by source; some reports cite higher medians for single-family homes).  • Median household income: Roughly $80,000–$85,000 nationally.  • Price-to-income ratio: Homes now cost ~5–7 times median household income (e.g., 5.32x in one 2023-adjusted analysis, up to 7.14x in others). Historically, this was around 3–4x (e.g., ~3.2x in 1970).  This means a typical home requires a household income of ~$86,000–$141,000+ to afford comfortably (depending on rates, down payment, and location), far above what many young households earn.  Wages have grown, but not enough: Home prices rose ~48% from 2019–2024, while median incomes rose only ~22%.  2. High Mortgage Rates Compound the Problem • Rates jumped from ~3% in the early pandemic to ~6.5–7%+ in recent years.  • Monthly payment on a median home hit records like ~$2,800 (spring 2024 data).  • Affordability indices (e.g., NAR Housing Affordability Index) show sharp declines since 2019–2022, with homes 2x less affordable than historical averages in some measures.  Low rates earlier allowed some buying, but the spike locked many out. First-time buyers (often younger) dropped to historic lows (~24% of buyers in 2025 data).  3. Homeownership Rates: Lagging Behind Previous Generations Younger generations own homes at lower rates than prior cohorts at the same age.  • Gen Z (adults ~19-28): ~26–27% homeownership (2024–2025), up slightly but flatlined for years. At age 27–28: ~33–38% vs. 40–44% for Boomers/Gen X at same age.  • Millennials (~30-45): ~54–55% (2025), modest gains but still behind (e.g., at age 35–36: ~56–57% vs. 61%+ for prior generations).  • Comparison: Gen X ~73%, Boomers ~80%.  First-time buyer numbers plummeted (e.g., ~1.14 million in 2024 vs. 3.2 million in 2004). Median first-time buyer age rose to ~38–40.  Many young adults live with parents/roommates (“missing households”: ~1.82 million millennial/Gen Z in 2025).