Millennials Last Hope is Squad Owned Homes

The latest trend in millennials not being able to afford homeownership has taken a turn for the friendly with a recent report from the Wall Street Journal which suggests more millennials are getting their squad and their resources together to try to go in on a housing commune. So, the conversation around having besties is no longer about who would you lend $50 bucks to, but who would you go into a long-term financial commitment with… like, do you trust your homies that much? 

According to the National Association of Realtors from April to June of 2020, 11% of homebuyers purchased as an unmarried couple up 9% from the previous year. This is because the number of people buying the same home together with different last names is up 771% between 2014 and 2021 according to Attom Data Solution. 

If you want to get a little deeper into other tragic contributors to this trend, look no further than the millennial trend of being jaded, disinterested or just lonely when it comes to long-term romance. Because many millennials put off getting married or having children in their later years, and because most of their lives are controlled by how much they still owe in college debt, the idea of continuing to live the roomie/dorm life with friends is not that far fetched an idea. 

To be honest, as the price of owning anything skyrockets and the square footage decreases, most millennials are probably scared of ending up living in tiny little pods, so having your own home to own, even if it’s a permanently shared space is something that might have its benefits. 

Millennial Habits Make it Possible 

Here’s the thing though, for many of us, growing up in the common living areas were much more used and much more important than today. In many of our Latino households the kitchen and living room were the hot spots in the home because it was in the main places, we would hang out in or relax in. But, in today world where most, if not all, hanging out takes place on our smartphones, you really only need screen privacy to chill… or at least that’s what I’m going to tell myself to help ease the pain of having to live with roommates… forever and ever. 

Being a Single Millennial is Unaffordable

There are  many contributing factors that account for millennials not being able to afford anything, the least of which is not that we like a little “razzmatazz” with our morning coffee. Many millennials made essentially the equivalent long-term financial commitment you would have to make to buy a house when they took a loan out for college. The Federal Reserve estimated that as of the beginning of 2021, there’s $1.74 trillion in student debt. Currently, the average student debt for millennials is $38,077 as of 2020 so it’s hard to imagine putting together a down payment on a home as a single millennial, or even saving money when you’re already almost $40k in the hole to start. 

How Can Millennials Afford a House?

So, the best advice to become a millennial homeowner is to either already be rich, marry rich, win the lottery or do what I’ve done and continue watching motivational Tik Tok videos until you come up with some incredible startup company and then live off of the fortunes of that. Outside of this, the best approach might be to drown your financial sorrows in that expensive pumpkin spice latte and remind yourself you are the generation that got to enjoy the best decade in music ever.