The rate of late-twenty-something home owners dropped from 43% to 38% between 1980 and 2000. Early thirty-something home owners also became more rate. Even after the financial crisis, both rates kept falling. Between 2009 and 2011, the rate of young people buying homes was half of what it was 10 years ago.
What's to blame? Rising student loan debt is one reason. The rise in later-in-life marriages might be to blame, too, as couples are more likely to buy a home. Also at fault: stagnating wages and uncertainty about the economy and job security.
