New Data Changing Narrative of Millennial Homebuyers

The average age of homebuying Millennials is dropping, according to new data from Ellie Mae, a software company that processes more than 30 percent of U.S. mortgage applications.

At the start of 2018, the average age of this cohort of homebuyers was up over 30 years of age, but over the course of the year thus far, it's been dropping. Ellie Mae executive Joe Tyrrell tells MarketWatch that rising rental costs are likely the reason why younger people are increasingly moving to buy. Housing reporter Andrea Riquier explains that this changes the narrative around Millennials, who for so long have been characterized as having Peter Pan Syndrome, not wanting to grow up, "after being slammed by the worst economic downturn in a century and struggling to service huge amounts of student debt."

By now, the old saw that “millennials aren’t buying homes” has been debunked quite a bit, including by this publication. (Also, they’re not just buying, they’re buying in the suburbs.) It’s not clear what’s behind the sharp uptick in ages at the beginning of the year. It’s possible that the recent tax-law changes may have caused some younger would-be buyers to hang back, allowing the average age to skew upwards. In any case, after the early 2018 blip, that downward slope in age seems to have resumed, and is worth keeping an eye on.

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