Recap: Housing the Millennial Generation

As a Millennial who moved to the country's most expensive city a year ago, it only made sense to attend SPUR's forum last week on "Housing the Millennial Generation." Speaker Jed Kolko is an urban economist from UC Berkeley's Terner Center for Housing Innovation. He jam-packed a ton of data-heavy information into an amazingly coherent presentation, and I will outline the takeaways.

Millennial housing myths:
1. Millennials are driving today's housing demand.
2. Demographics don't explain Millennial housing behaviors.
3. Millennials are more urban than previous generations.

Reality:
1. Millennials are not driving today's housing demand.
2. Demographics explain Millennial housing behaviors.
3. Millennials are less urban than previous generations.

What it means:

• Since demographics explain Millennial housing behaviors, it's not attitudes.
• Household formation and home ownership may have permanently shifted later in life.
• Housing investments must reflect seniors' preferences and needs.
• Absent major policy shifts, there will be plenty of demand for suburban homes.

The key takeaway for me: It's SO easy to overlook demographics. But the people that makeup our nation can be one of the strongest forces and contribute immensely to shaping the world around us. 

inman / SF Bay Area

Check out Jed Kolko's website and more related posts like "Why Millennials Still Live With Their Parents."