Generation X Leads the Decline of Homeownership

A snarky post written for The Atlantic identifies a forgotten culprit in the country's dropping homeownership rates: Generation X.

1 minute read

October 29, 2014, 2:00 PM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell

caswell_tom / Flickr

Citing Census statistics released October 28, 2014 [pdf], Derek Thompson examines the question of why homeownership has reached a 19-year low. Instead of blaming Millennials (Thompson notes that there's practically a journalistic duty to blame everything on Millennials), the article finds a surprising trend: "there's another cohort turning away from homes even faster—Gen-X. That's right, Americans between 35 and 44 have had the sharpest drop in homeownership since the recession struck, far outpacing the national rate."

Moreover, "if you reproduce this experiment for every age cohort, you arrive at a surprising picture (for Millennial critics, at least). In the last 20 years, homeownership has fallen less for young people than for any other age group under 64." [Emphasis is from the original.]

FULL STORY: Homeownership in America Has Collapsed—Don't Blame Millennials

Tuesday, October 28, 2014 in The Atlantic

Housing United States Homeownership Generation X Foreclosure Crisis Millennials View More

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