, Columnist
Millennials Should Be Happy They Are Stuck Renting
They complain about being stuck renting, but history shows that makes more sense than owning.
Millennials should stay renting.
Photographer: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
This article is for subscribers only.
Millennials spend a lot of time bemoaning their inability to buy a home, forcing them to keep renting. They should want to stay renters, if they know what’s good for them financially.
It’s generally believed that appreciation in home values is what created middle-class wealth in earlier decades. But that was only because monthly loan payments forced homeowners to save and eventually retire their mortgage debt. Most of the rise in single-family house prices over time is due to larger new structures with more marble bathrooms, fancier kitchens, etc.