Practically all the attendees at Realtor.com’s Saturday afternoon panel – Housing: The Key to the American Dream – were 20-somethings. According to the panel’s experts, it’s unlikely many of them have yet felt the joy of buying their first home.
Realtor.com’s panelists presented data showing that the median age at which a person buys their first home in the U.S. has risen from 30 to 40. Jessica Lautz, vice president of research at the National Association of Realtors, said some media outlets are blaming the rise on Gen Z’s inability to adopt sound budgeting practices, rather than the obvious culprits – high home prices and interest rates.
“It used to be avocado toast and cappuccinos, but now I’ve even seen narratives, honestly, on social media from a major media outlet in the last two weeks, that blamed rotisserie chicken as one of the reasons why Gen Z cannot get into home ownership,” Lautz deadpanned, drawing laughs. “If you’re blaming a $5 chicken as the reason, that’s a really big problem.”…