Bullard Says Shift From Home Ownership May Last a Generation

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said the 30 percent drop in U.S. housing prices since 2006 may prompt a generational shift to apartment rentals.

“My sense is that the housing debacle of the past five years may have scared off a generation of potential homeowners,” Bullard said today in a speech in New York. “New home buyers likely see homeownership as a fundamentally riskier proposition than earlier cohorts and therefore may be far more likely to rent rather than own.”