Another Millennial Problem

 

You have to hand it to the Millennials. 

They have been given the shaft in so many areas. As they were leaving school, the economy went into the toilet and stayed there. 

They had to move home and live with their parents who did icky things like going to church and mowing the yard

Then they found out that they would have to pay back their student loans, which can range up to $1 billion, if they got their master's degree in their "passion," like Medieval Russian Art. 

Now, the poor babies are having a hard time in the housing market.

The problem is that too many millennials want houses like their parents but can't afford them because they are too expensive.

On top of that, people like Mom and Dad (and me) have the nerve to hold on to their houses instead of selling them for a reduced rate to millennials because millennials have now decided to grow up and own something.

If you want to read something funny, read Reddit because there are some really funny things (and by funny, I mean stupid) written by people like "Cannabis Breeder" and "The BigDill" on the important topic of "Millennials Not Buying Homes".

The people on this thread point out that the problem is simple to understand: everything costs too much and it should not. 

They also note that "mega corporations" and "mega-investors" buy up all the inventory. They buy houses, fix them up and sell them simply to make money. The heathens shouldn't do that. The nerve of some "mega corporations" and "mega-investors"!

One poster said, "Our parents and them < bad word >boomers that can't seem to go away are responsible."  What I like about this post is its laser beam analysis. The problem is caused by our parents and their buddies for staying alive and not giving us what we want.  Also, we want to prove that we are tough by using bad words.

Despite all the whining, and boy can they whine, Millennials have a point.  

Compared with the previous generations, The Boomers and Generation X (as Rodney Dangerfield would say, Generation X was no bargain either), Millennials have more debt (mainly college loans) and a lower net worth.

Part of the debt problem is that people should have taken the time to explain to Millennials that loans are debts that you (are you sitting down?) have to pay back.

In addition, the cost of college has increased exponentially since I was in school, when tuition was forty bucks.

That's just ha-ha funny man stuff, but in 1986, the total cost of going to Harvard for a year was $14,100.00.  In 2023, tuition alone was $57,261.00.

Every college takes its cues from the Ivy League, and the cost of going to school everywhere else has gone up, too. Not to mention, joining a Greek house adds costs because they always have formals and they have to buy booze.

Of course, politicians have been quick to recognize the problem of high college debt by coming up with a solution that any kid that got suckered in by the Obama "we are the change we are looking for" would love: forget it, kid.    

Uncle Joe says don't worry about your loan; we have you covered. He only asks that you go to the polls and vote for Uncle Joe.

However, it is more than the high debt that some millennials carry around. Home Builders are building fewer homes than they did a few years ago.

Then you have the mortgage rates on a thirty-year note, which, as of 4/19/24, are 7.946%. In 2019, the mortgage rate on a thirty-year note was 4.13%.

If you think that's bad, the mortgage rate on a thirty-year note in 1989 was 10%, the year we bought our first home.  We dreamed of a 7.946%. We ran to have our mortgage refinanced when it did hit 7%.

Millennials will just have to wait it out until mortgage rates come down and a bunch of us Boomers go and see Jesus.