, Columnist
Millennials Can’t Afford Homes After Exiting the Basement
The U.S. needs to increase homeownership for the young and the wealth it creates.
And here’s where the kids can stay.
Photographer: Daniel Acker/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Just a few years ago, the millennial generation -- generally defined as those born from the early 1980s through the mid-1990s -- was synonymous with youthful rebellion. But now, as the millennials ease into early middle age, they’re finding their path out of their parents’ basement to be a lot harder than it was for earlier generations.
The fundamental problem is that millennials aren’t building wealth. The wealth of the median household headed by someone 35 or younger has actually shrunk in inflation-adjusted terms since the mid-2000s, even as the wealth of older Americans has continued to grow: