Millennials Projected to Buy the Most Houses in 2020

2020 is the dawn of a new decade, and this year will also welcome a new dominant generation of homebuyers. Millennials secured steady careers, got married, and are now forecast to buy the most homes out of any generation in 2020, according to Realtor.com’s 2020 Housing Market Predictions. As the current largest generation in the U.S., Millennials will catapult past an impressive 50 percent share of mortgage originations by spring. And builders should take note—this generation has two top priorities: family-friendly housing and affordability. These are especially important points as construction ramps up for the year and builders begin to tackle the affordable housing shortage head-on. 

In 2020, millennials will be buying the bulk of real estate in the U.S., according to Realtor.com’s “2020 Housing Market Predictions.”

In their forecast, Realtor.com predicts that millennials’ share of mortgage originations will surpass an unprecedented 50% in the spring, outnumbering the share of total homes purchased by members of Generation X and baby boomers, at a respective 32% and 17%.

Millennials currently comprise the largest generation in the U.S., according to Pew Research. This generation, once marked by ambivalence or inability to buy homes, has begun to reconsider its goals.

The largest age bracket among millennials, 4.8 million, will be turning 30 this year and starting to reach the same milestones previous generations did in their thirties, such as starting a family. New financial and family needs may likely push them to search for new homes.

“It’s an age at which they are on their first, second jobs,” Realtor.com’s senior economist George Ratiu tells CNBC Make It and adds, “many of those families are having kids, and with that their preferences have shifted; we’re seeing that they obviously are very much interested in buying homes.”

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