In the UK, homeownership rates among Millennials have plummeted.
Surveys show that from London to Manchester, Millennials are facing a housing crisis.
In some areas of the UK, homeownership rates for Millennials aged 25 to 34 have nearly halved, and the housing affordability crisis is not limited to London.
According to The Guardian, this report is based on a two-year "Intergenerational Fairness" survey overseen by the think tank Resolution Foundation and led by former Universities Minister David Willetts. The research team found that in the UK, overpriced housing is forcing Millennials to face "increasingly crowded and expensive rental properties, longer commutes, and fewer opportunities to save for a home."
The data below illustrates why the collapse of homeownership rates among Millennials is much more widespread than imagined:
The homeownership rate for those aged 25-34 has significantly decreased from 53% in 1984 to 26% last year.
In South Yorkshire, this rate has dropped from 54% to 25%;
In the West Midlands, the homeownership rate has fallen from 45% to 20%;
In Wales, this figure has decreased from 50% to 28%;
In the Southeast, it has dropped from 55% to 27%.
Outside London, this rate has fallen from 53% to 16%.
Among the 22 regions analyzed by the committee, only Strathclyde in Scotland has maintained a stable homeownership rate for young people, remaining at 32% in 1984 and 33% last year, peaking at 45% in 2002.
Shockingly, in a region where economic growth is currently poor, the homeownership rate for Millennials is expected to reach the level of 45% for the previous generation by age 45.
The Guardian notes that inheritance can accelerate the process of home buying, but adds that "almost half of young people without property have parents who also do not own a home."
Nearly 40% of Millennials are still renting by the time they reach 30, which is double that of Generation X and nearly four times that of the Baby Boomer generation. It is estimated that Millennials spend about a quarter of their net income on housing, three times that of the pre-war generation.
The Guardian explains how Millennials are facing smaller living spaces with longer commute times.
Their living space is also decreasing. Currently, the average private rental space per tenant is only 8 square meters, down from levels in 1996. Meanwhile, homeowners have an average of four more square meters of space. As younger families are more likely to be private renters rather than homeowners, each family member now has less average space. Among Millennials in their twenties, one in ten households lives in overcrowded conditions.
Millennials face longer commute times than older generations. If the current differences persist, by the age of forty, Millennials will spend three more days commuting each year than those born during the Baby Boom.
Based on trends from 2002 to 2012, about half of the oldest Millennials will own their homes by age 45, while over 70% of Baby Boomers in that age group owned their homes.
At the current rate, most Millennials in the UK may never afford a home in their lifetime.
