As a major milestone in life, home ownership has long been associated with the “American dream”. At the James A. Graaskamp Center for Real Estate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Mark Eppli believes that this is “embedded in how we think about real estate.” While buying a house is a way to build generational wealth, many Millennials are opting out of the home ownership dream. Even though it seems like all we hear about millennials is how they want to own their own home, the reality paints a very different picture
Millennials own significantly fewer homes than previous generations did at the same age, according to a new analysis of Census Bureau data. It just may turn out to be the best investment you’ve ever made. We’re all looking for ways to find true happiness — and yet, more than half of us still don’t own our own homes.
In fact, nearly 70% of millennials, as well as members of Gen X (ages 35-49) and baby boomers (ages 50-68) are renters. The link between home ownership and happiness is well documented. For example, one paper showed that people who own a home are more likely to report being happy than those who do not. This implies that if you don’t buy a home, you will probably be unhappy.
Buying a house can make you happy
Homeownership is often regarded as the equivalent of adulthood, with all its responsibilities. Christi Carter writes that “people who own their homes tend to devote a lot more time and energy to home life’s ‘boiling pot’–its maintenance, organization, decoration, and socializing.” Eppli says the first step to settling on a home is knowing what you want. This is because the home-buying process can be daunting, with countless decisions and documents that need to be filled out.
What the research shows about happiness