Mortgage Blog

Have millennials who have been slow to jump onto the housing ladder finally
figured out the path to wealth their parents followed?

The latest survey from Bank of America suggests they have — and that they
are moving happily along their way toward being for-real grownups.

Indeed, 39% of 18- to 34-year-old homeowners queried associated homeownership
with adulthood. That's the largest share of any generation to feel that way,
according to the survey, conducted by GfK Public Communications and Social
Science on behalf of B of A's consumer lending group.

On the other hand, just 16% of millennial homeowners think of owning a home as
achieving the American dream and only 11% equate it with permanence. In both cases,
they are the least likely generation to define owning a home in that fashion.

It found that millennial homeowners are least likely to define homeownership as
permanent. Here, the breakdown was 11% for millennials, 23% for Gen Xers, 29%
for baby boomers and 37% for seniors.

It also found that four out of five millennial homeowners said buying their
initial home has had a positive impact on their long-term financial pictures.
And 68% said they bought now and intend to use their today-house as a "steppingstone"
to their forever-home. In comparison, only 36% of owners across all age cohorts
feel that way.

"After years of seeing millennials sit on the sidelines," said D. Steve Boland,
a B of A managing director and executive of consumer lending, "it is clear some
are recognizing it might not make sense to wait."

In Boland's view, these young first-time buyers are "excited to get started" and
"understand the benefits (homeownership) can have on their long-term financial picture."