Kids Moving Out Are a Boon to the Economy

Shelby Webb rented her first apartment on Apr. 9 after landing a job translating ads for a Spanish-language newspaper in Chattanooga. About the same time, 24-year-old Anna Stokkebye, who was hired full-time in January as a website designer, closed on a $155,000 two-bedroom condominium in Charlotte. Both left their parents' homes to move into their new digs. "I love my parents, but I didn't want to live with them anymore," says Webb, 22.

The two women are at the forefront of a trend that could help boost consumer spending and lift housing out of the funk it's been in for the past four years. During the recession, millions of young people moved back in with their parents or delayed leaving them because they couldn't find jobs. As employment picks up, more of them will strike out on their own—forming a "household," in demographic parlance, and creating demand for housing and a broad range of consumer goods.