Number of young homeowners on the decline

Home for sale in St. Paul
Home for sale in St. Paul.
MPR Photo/Nikki Tundel

Despite richer couples, cheaper mortgages and millions of unwanted houses, the number of young home owners has been on the decline.

"The decline in young home owners is a puzzling trend," wrote Derek Thompson in The Atlantic. "Interest rates have steadily declined over the last 30 years. Mortgage lending has loosened. Women have ascended in the workplace and supplemented their spouse's earnings. How in the face of all of these positive developments did home ownership among the young keep falling?"

Thompson will join The Daily Circuit Thursday to discuss the findings in his article. Jeffrey Lubell, executive director of the Center for Housing Policy, will also join the discussion on why fewer young people are buying homes, and what this means for the future of the housing market.

"I think if I were a youth in that age group, I'd be focused more on maintaining my ability to move and be mobile," Lubell said in U.S. News & World Report.

KERRI'S TAKEAWAY

Young people are under a lot of pressure balancing student debt and the cost of a home. Young people are weighing this issue in a very insightful way.