Millennial Says The Reason Housing Prices Keep Climbing Has Absolutely Zero To Do With Baby Boomers
fizkes | CanvaWhile inflation is cooling in the US, the housing market shows no sign of lowering its prices. Bankrate reported that the average 30-year mortgage rate is currently at 6.57%.
There's a lot of blame going around regarding who is responsible for these high home prices. It’s common for younger generations to blame Baby Boomers for overvaluing their homes. But one Millennial said that skyrocketing home costs actually have nothing to do with Boomers at all, and called out their own generation.
One Millennial claimed that their own generation — not Baby Boomers — is responsible for high housing prices
Ahmet Kurt / Unsplash+
In an anonymous online forum post, a person who identified themselves as a Millennial stated that fellow Millennials and other new homeowners are to blame for housing costs. They do contend, though, that some responsibility belongs to Boomers for expecting Millennials to pay such outrageous prices.
“It’s funny to see my grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, and extended family, who had average jobs (teacher, machinist, salon, or even corporate roles) think that their duplex house on a half acre is worth 500K-1M or more,” they said. “Yet they are acutely aware they would never be able to afford a house like that on their current or former salary.”
However, for the most part, this person argued that the blame rests squarely on Millennials’ shoulders. “How did this happen?” they asked. “It’s us. We are agreeing to pay these dumb prices.”
They theorized that there are several different factors that could be causing this issue: One is Millennials’ familiarity with “taking out impossible loans to pay back,” something that comes from notorious student loans. Another factor is “quick home appreciations during the ‘08 bubble.” “Or,” they added, “maybe this is the first time we’re seeing generational wealth being accumulated and passed down from Boomers.”
The Millennial offered interesting suggestions for reversing the problems in the housing market
The anonymous poster had some striking ideas for finding a solution to the problem. “If Millennials and new homeowners collectively withheld their desire to take out that meaty mortgage, prices would drop,” they said. “So we have to toughen up and find more creative ways to find shelter and save for retirement.”
Their thoughts on how to do this raised a few eyebrows. “This may mean staying with parents, [finding a] super cheap rental, or even sleeping in our cars,” they wrote.
Ultimately, they said, “Reality check is we have to stop paying the dumb prices by being creative with shelter. And maybe we can get prices to come down for the next generation.”
Commenters were not happy with the person’s suggestions. Fellow users who commented on the post were incredulous. “So what are we supposed to do? Be homeless?” asked one. That certainly seemed to be their suggestion.
Another person chimed in and said, “Ah, so it’s the Millennials’ fault for buying shelter, and not the Boomers for price-gouging us. I suppose you think the price of healthcare is consumers’ fault for not just dying instead?”
“Dude, it’s not us,” one person insisted emphatically.
The generational blame game only distracts from a real solution to the housing crisis
It certainly does seem strange to suggest that people live in their cars rather than buy homes in the hopes that prices will go down. While a possible argument could be made for refusing to buy homes at such high prices, one must also take into account the fact that shelter is a basic necessity.
Regardless, one thing that seems to have even more staying power than high home prices is the ongoing feud and blame game between Millennials and Boomers. Unfortunately, that blame does nothing but distract from the fact that the true problem is a lack of affordable housing.
Whether that has to do with zoning and state regulations, developer incentives, or simply real estate greed, that's for economists to debate. Instead of battling to be "right," perhaps Boomers and Millennials should join forces so true change can happen that benefits everyone.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer for YourTango who covers entertainment, news, and human interest topics.
