A profound and bitter generational divide is widening in the United States, centred on a single, powerful symbol: the family home. For millions of Americans in their 20s, 30s, and 40s, the dream of home ownership has evaporated, replaced by a pervasive sense of economic betrayal and a broken social contract.
The Vanishing Milestone
The statistics paint a stark picture of decline. In the 1980s, the median age of a first-time home buyer was about 29. Today, that figure has soared to 40. Furthermore, that first home now costs roughly twice as much, when adjusted for inflation, as it did for their parents' generation in the mid-1980s. This isn't merely a personal setback; it's a national crisis given how closely home ownership is tied to wealth creation in the US, with the gap between renters and owners at a historic width.
The situation is so dire that it has spawned radical policy suggestions and widespread financial despair. Last month, an idea for a 50-year mortgage was floated and then hastily withdrawn after critics noted a millennial buying at 40 might die before paying it off. Economists from Northwestern and the University of Chicago predict Americans born in the 1990s will reach retirement with a home ownership rate nearly 10 percentage points lower than their parents.
A System Stacked Against the Young
Commentators from across the political spectrum, from right-wing host Tucker Carlson to progressive figures like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have identified this as a critical failure. Carlson called it a "national emergency," arguing that without ownership, people feel no stake in their country's future and struggle to build stable families.
The roots of the crisis are deep. Baby boomers, the wealthiest cohort in world history, came of age in an era of robust wages and affordable staples like education, healthcare, and housing. They entered a system that, for many, rewarded hard work with pensions, promotions, and appreciating assets. From the 1990s onward, as they gained political power, policies often prioritised tax cuts and protected retirement benefits for themselves, while public investment waned and costs for younger generations ballooned.
The result is a historic reversal: where 90% of Americans born in 1940 earned more than their parents, for someone born today it is just a coin flip. A 35-44 year old in 2022 had just a third of the wealth of someone 65-74, compared to having 75% of the older cohort's wealth in 1989.
Rent, Regret, and Resentment
For millennials who followed the traditional path—good grades, university degrees, steady work—the reality is one of renting indefinitely, building no equity, and watching a significant portion of their income vanish into housing costs. As journalist and millennial Neal Gabler noted, we have "democratized financial insecurity."
This has fuelled palpable resentment towards older generations, often manifesting online in forums dedicated to criticising 'boomer' attitudes. Financial adviser Kurt Supe offers a telling analogy: boomers played Monopoly with all the properties still in the box, while younger people are now trying to negotiate for just a few already-owned spaces.
The housing shortage is a key driver, with insufficient supply in desirable areas. Older homeowners, seeing their nest eggs grow, often resist new construction that might affect their property's value. Economist William Gale of the Brookings Institution, 66, admits, "I don't want to move into retirement – so I'm taking up a house that some young family could otherwise occupy."
An Inheritance That Comes Too Late
Many pin hopes on the "great wealth transfer," the anticipated passing of boomer wealth to their heirs. However, experts caution this is overstated and poorly timed. Gale notes that intergenerational transfers largely benefit the extremely rich, and the median inheritance is unlikely to be life-changing. Crucially, any inheritance often arrives when recipients are in their 60s, long after the funds are needed to buy a first home or raise children.
The generation following millennials, Generation Z, faces an even more precarious outlook, with saturated job markets and rising reliance on credit. The foundational American promise—that each generation will do better than the last—has collapsed. For young Americans today, the question is not when they will buy a home, but if they ever will, leaving a deep and lasting scar on the nation's economic and social fabric.
