Have to Win the Lottery?

Despite continued affordability challenges, the American dream of homeownership is not dead for Gen Zers and Millennials, who believe their path to get there will be challenging and may even require some luck. A new report from Zillow finds that 52% of Gen Zers, and 57% of Millennials who don’t currently own a home believe they’d need to win the lottery to afford one. Outside of winning the lottery, large shares of both generations (95% of Gen Zers and 94% of Millennials) say they would have to make some life changes in order to make their dream of homeownership a reality. About 40% of Millennials say they would need to get a second or third job, and 28% of Gen Zers say they’d have to make a career change in order to afford a home right now.

“These findings highlight the gap between Gen Z and Millennials’ dream of owning a home and their ability to actually make it happen,” said Zillow’s Home Trends Expert Amanda Pendleton.” Survey respondents stated that when it comes to a down payment, 36% of Gen Zers say they’d give up their beloved social media if it meant having enough cash to put down on a starter home. Generation Zers and Millennials are optimistic about the future, as two-thirds of those polled say it’s realistic to think they can buy a home within the next five years.

Source: MReport