There is a big issue facing millennials and housing and it’s only going to get worse. We are seeing for the first time in generations that children growing up are living with less than their parents and grandparents. With incomes falling, in real terms, combined with rising property prices (as well as the cost of living in general) we can see how it’s nowhere near as easy for young people today to find a home of their own compared to previous generations.
Lack Of Social Housing
One issue is the lack of affordable social housing. This goes for both properties that are for rent as well as those for sale. Being that more and more people are on lower incomes and insecure employment then it’s even more important than ever that affordable housing is made available but we can see that it’s actually less available than in the past. This leads to many of the millennial generation being stuck with few other options than expensive properties in the private rental sector.
Difficult To Get Mortgages
Getting approval on a mortgage is more tightly controlled following the financial crash of 2018 as banks are much more careful about who they lend to. Often larger deposits are required as well which combined with many being stuck in the aforementioned expensive private rental properties makes getting this together extremely difficult. There are some things to do when looking for a mortgage that can make a difference though.
Practicalities Of Moving
Even moving house can be extremely difficult with large deposits required even for moving between rental properties, sometimes several months rent, and often trying to make the timing work with moving out of one place having to tie up with the dates where you are moving into another. What if there is a gap there? You can always temporarily stay with friends which is an inconvenience and you will have to store your furniture and property somewhere like, Life Storage Houston, which although it is not too expensive can be a bother if the situation stays for too long.
High Rents – Poverty Spiral
So basically these high rents, struggling to get as deposit and insecurity of tenancies can create a real poverty spiral, especially at the start of your career where you may need to take the best employment for experience and not necessarily with the best salary. This makes getting on the property ladder very difficult and young professionals may find themselves having to wait until much later in life or even not getting there at all.
Stagnating Wages
We have been finding that wages have not been increasing much at all in recent years or even decades but that inflation has been making the cost of living much more expensive meaning that in any measure in the real world that people are much poorer than in previous generations. This trend is going to make housing a real headache for not just millennials but many future generations to come unless we can make some substantial, real changes that can address and reverse these trends.
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