The nation will be pulled out of the housing crisis by an unlikely demographic, according to study by The Concord Group of Newport Beach, a “strategic” analyst of the real estate industry.
“Like the early Baby Boomers in the 1946 to 1964
era, the 80-million strong Generation Y today will make up the wave of
future homeowners in the U.S.,” reports what is believed to be the first major national housing survey of its kind.
Generation Y, states the report, is generally bullish on the housing market, possessing “a surprisingly strong sense of optimism about the future,
despite cautious near-term sentiment.” Young homeowners are willing to pay more for
housing if the development is near their jobs, according to the study, which also found:
- 50% say they are likely to purchase a home within the next three years.
- 50% say tax credits or lower interest rates would motivate them to purchase a residence sooner.
- 70% believe home prices will be higher or at today's levels in two years.
- 62% say wealth creation is a very big advantage of real estate ownership.
“Generation
Y is going to have more impact on the national housing market than any
group since the early Baby Boomers,” states Emma Tyaransen, a Concord
principal.
The data supports a Concord prediction that “transit-oriented development will command a premium in the near
future,” added Tyaransen. “It also proves that suburban
development will continue to play an important role in the housing
market that emerges from the downturn.”
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.