Download More Millennials Living With Family Despite Improved Job Market

More Millennials Living With Family Despite Improved Job Market
Source: Pew Research
America’s 18- to 34-year-olds are less likely to be living independently of their families and establishing
their own households today than they were in the depths of the Great Recession. This has occurred despite
the fact that unemployment is down, full-time work is up, and wages have modestly rebounded for young
adults in the U.S. labor market.
Making sense of the story

The 18- to 34-year-old population has grown by nearly 3 million since 2007. But the number
heading up their own households has not increased.

In the first third of 2015 about 42.2 million 18- to 34-year-olds lived independently of their
families. In 2007, before the recession began, about 42.7 million adults in that age group lived
independently.

In 2010, 69 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds lived independently. As of the first four months of this
year, only 67 percent of millennials were living independently. Over the same time period, the
share of young adults living in their parents’ homes has increased from 24 to 26 percent.

The number of young adults heading their own households is no higher in 2015 (25 million) than
it was before the recession began in 2007 (25.2 million).

The decline in independent living since the recovery began is apparent among both bettereducated young adults and their less-educated counterparts. For example, today 86 percent of
college-educated 25- to 34-year-olds live independently of their families. In 2010, 88 percent of
this demographic lived independently.

Trends in living arrangements also show no significant gender differences during the recovery.
However, in 2015, 63 percent of millennial men lived independently of family, compared with 72
percent of millennial women.

Most of the decline in independent living since 2007 can be attributed to more young adults living
in their parents’ homes. In the first third of 2015, 26 percent of Millennials lived with their
parents. At the beginning of the recovery in 2010, 24 percent of young adults were living with
parents.
Read the full story
http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2015/07/29/more-millennials-living-with-family-despite-improved-jobmarket/
In other news …
U.S. Homeownership Rate Hits 48-Year Low
Source: Wall St. Journal
The homeownership rate continued to decline in the second quarter of 2015, hitting a 48-year low. The
country is experiencing its lowest homeownership rate since 1967. According to the Commerce
Department, the seasonally adjusted homeownership rate declined to 63.5 percent, down from 64.7
percent in the second quarter of 2014. However, it should be noted that the decline in homeownership
reflects a positive trend: The number of rental households is growing.
Read the full story
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2015/07/28/u-s-homeownership-rate-hits-48-year-low/
How will rising interest rates (really) affect you?
Source: Christian Science Monitor
The financial world will be searching for clues from the Federal Reserve about the timing of the longawaited hike on interest rates. The decision is important to the economy because the eventual increase in
the rate will affect anyone who has a home mortgage, a car loan, a savings account, or money invested in
the stock market. Most analysts believe that rising interest rates ultimately lead to higher mortgage rates,
which means aspiring homeowners should expect to pay more over the course of their mortgage. That
could price some people out of the market. Moreover, interest rate movement also impacts the rental
market, so even people without a mortgage will notice the change.
Read the full story
http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/2015/0729/How-will-rising-interest-rates-really-affect-you
The Shaky Foundation For U.S. Housing-Price Growth
Source: Wall St. Journal
The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, covering the entire nation, rose 4.4 percent in the 12 months
ended in May, slightly greater than a 4.3 percent increase in April. Alarmingly, home prices have been
rising at twice the rate of income growth and inflation. That being said, there is already evidence that
home-price growth is starting to slow—after a period of time in which home prices have grown just over
4 percent every month of 2015 so far. The equation pushing home prices higher is a simple one: New
home construction has been very limited in recent years, while demand has remained fairly strong.
Read the full story
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2015/07/29/the-shaky-foundation-for-u-s-housing-price-growth/
California's drought spurs unexpected effect: Eco-friendly development
Source: KPCC
Smaller homes built close to each other with a common green space is just one example of new, ecofriendly communities in California's predominantly agricultural Central Valley that are taking shape due
to the drought. The severity of the drought is changing the way people are designing residential
communities. Cities in the Central Valley are dominated by older homes and basic tract houses, but new
developments that will run on solar power with drought-resistant yards are something new for farm
towns.
Read the full story
http://www.scpr.org/news/2015/07/29/53459/california-s-drought-spurs-unexpected-effect-eco-f/
Housing supply falls further, feeding prices
Source: CNBC
The supply of homes for sale nationally in June fell 6.5 percent from a year ago, according to a new report
from Zillow. Demand for housing has returned, but housing supply has not, and the numbers are only
getting worse. Stan Humphries, chief economist at Zillow, commented, “Finding a house is the last hurdle
for many buyers who have saved a down payment and gotten pre-approved for a mortgage, but low
inventory levels like those we're seeing across the country can bring the home-buying process to a
screeching halt.” Inventory fell in 19 of the nation's largest metropolitan areas.
Read the full story
http://www.cnbc.com/2015/07/30/housing-supply-falls-further-feeding-prices.html
Where Rents Are Eating Up a Bigger Share of Income
Source: Wall St. Journal
Renters on the West Coast are feeling some of the greatest pressure when it comes to rents growing faster
than incomes. Cost burdens are spreading rapidly among moderate-income households, according to a
recent report by Harvard University, and rents in cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco have really
squeezed household budgets. Economists generally consider a household cost-burdened when it is paying
at least 30 percent of its income for rent. There has been a mismatch between robust growth in rents and
more tepid gains for income.
Read the full story
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2015/07/28/where-rents-are-eating-up-a-bigger-share-of-income/
Talking Points …

An index measuring economic confidence fell to a 10-month low, according to Gallup’s
Economic Confidence Index.

The index dropped to -14 last week, which was the lowest level recorded since last September.
The index has been on a downward trajectory since late January when the index peaked at +5,
which was the highest weekly score since Gallup began tracking economic confidence in 2008.

Since mid-March, the index has consistently been in negative territory. Gallup's index is the
average of two factors: how the public rates the current economy and whether people feel the
economy is improving or getting worse.