More Young Adults Live With Parents Than Not—for the First Time in 130 Years
"Right now is the
worst time in the country’s history to be a renter, according to statistics reported last year by the real estate database Zillow. As I wrote in a recent AlterNet story:
"Rents have never taken up this much of the American paycheck. Mortgage prices have remained relatively stable over the last several years, while rent has skyrocketed. A
Bloomberg article points out that the cost of homeownership is actually at a historic low, while the rate of homeownership is also lower than it has been in years. With home ownership is at its lowest rate in five years, apartment living has become increasingly competitive and some landlords appear to be taking advantage of the situation."
i’d argue the various trends are interconnected. If, for instance, you’ve gone to college only to accrue heaping debt, can’t find a job in a related field, the job you do have pays less than a living wage ($15/hour), you can’t afford to live on your own because rents are worse than ever, and you've got nothing saved up for a downpayment on a house, you're probably less than inspired to settle down nuclear family-style and raise some kids behind a picket fence. "