Gen Z & Millennials ‘Feel Stuck’ In Their Starter Homes — ‘I Thought I’d Be Able To Trade Up’

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At one point in time, buying a home was considered a staple of adulthood. Past generations were able to freely buy homes without having to worry about the cost depleting their money.

However, many younger generations, including Gen Z and millennials, are starting to realize that buying a home might not be in the cards for them. Still, the ones who were lucky enough to get their first homes are realizing they might not be starter homes, but their forever homes instead.

Gen Z and millennials admit they ‘feel stuck’ in their starter homes.

According to research by Edelman Financial Engines, over a third (36%) of homeowners report feeling stuck in their homes and unable to move. This rises to nearly 50% for homeowners under 50, who are mostly made up of Gen Z and millennials. But even some young Gen Xers in this group are in the same boat.

Part of the reason stems from the fact that young Americans are being forced to put every penny of their savings into buying their first homes.

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Buying up is becoming an impossibility across all generations.

Just to afford a median-priced starter home, prospective buyers must earn about $80,000 a year, according to Redfin.

“Americans need to earn more than a year ago — and much more than before the pandemic — to afford a starter home because mortgage rates are elevated, and home prices are near record highs,” the report read.

However, it’s not just young people who are feeling chained to their less-than-favorable current home.

While speaking with the Associated Press, Brenda Edwards, 70, a retired nurse, explained that making a move would make no sense. “It would be too hard to purchase anything else,” she said.

Another woman named Sabrina Steward Koboldt feels similarly. While she told Realtor.com that she wants to move, she admitted that it’s just not in the cards for her. “If we bought something right now, our mortgage payment would be more than double for the same-sized home. We’d love a bigger house with some land, but that’s not happening anytime soon.”

It’s the high cost of housing that has kept Gen Z from not being able to buy their own homes.

In a survey from IPX 1031 of over 1,000 people nationwide, 63% of Americans can’t afford to buy a home this year, with 87% of Gen Z unable to and 62% of millennials unable to.

Given the housing market, 1 in 4 surveyed no longer believe that homeownership is a good investment in the long run, and 1 in 3 don’t believe it should still be the American dream.

Because of this, many Gen Zers have to reckon with living at home with their families.

In fact, nearly one-third, or 31%, of Generation Z adults live at home with parents because they can’t afford to buy or rent their own space, according to a recent report by Intuit Credit Karma that polled 1,249 people age 18 and older.

Overall, the number of households with two or more adult generations has been on the rise for years, according to a Pew Research Center report. Now, 25% of young adults live in a multigenerational household, up from just 9% five decades ago.

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While there’s nothing wrong with living at home with your parents, it’s disheartening to many Gen Zers who’d hoped that they’d one day be able to buy their own homes.

Unfortunately, not only is that not a reality anymore, but many young adults are now facing the grim reality that they may never be able to move out of their starter homes which is a direct reflection of the economic challenges that Gen Zers and millennials are facing.

Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.