A new paper predicts that home-buying trends among younger generations will lead to a flood of homes that older homeowners will not be able to sell.
New housing research suggests that senior homeowners in the future will have trouble selling their homes, the result of a mismatch between the number of available homes and the millennial and Generation Z buyers able to afford them.
"The study predicts that the change in home-buying behaviors by younger generations may result in a glut of homes that could grow as high as 15 million by 2040, with homeowners selling for far below what they paid – if they can sell them at all. Most seniors will be able to sell their homes, the study says, but it may become especially difficult in smaller, distant and slow- or non-growing markets," writes Kyle Mittan.
The problem will be especially acute in rural and suburban areas where growth and development are slower. Possible policy solutions include a federal buyback program and programs that match younger people with seniors in homes for house-sharing arrangements.
FULL STORY: Study Predicts Millions of Unsellable Homes Could Upend Market
Five Key Statistics for Understanding Millennial Households
There has been a lot of speculation about the motivations of Millennials as they enter the workforce and the real estate market. The Pew Research Center starts with the facts.
Survey Finds Surprising Generation Trends in the Real Estate Market
Generation X is barnstorming the market, so to speak, and Millennials and Baby Boomers might be swapping their perspectives on the urban, suburban divide.
Millennial Confesses: I Was Born in the Suburbs and My Parents Are Baby Boomers
Everything we thought we knew about Millennials was wrong.
Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units
Place Versailles will be transformed into a mixed-use complex over the next 25 years.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself
The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.
Nevada Legislature Unanimously Passes Regional Rail Bill
If signed by the governor, the bill will create a task force aimed at developing a regional passenger rail system.
How Infrastructure Shapes Public Trust
A city engineer argues that planners must go beyond code compliance to ensure public infrastructure is truly accessible to all users.
Photos: In Over a Dozen Cities, Housing Activists Connect HUD Cuts and Local Issues
We share images from six of the cities around the country where members of three national organizing networks took action on May 20 to protest cuts to federal housing funding and lift up local solutions.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada