Millennials and Boomers: Housing Preferences (Part III)

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PART III: HOUSING PREFERENCES

(see Part I: Demographics, Part II: Finances and Workplace Preferences, and Part IV: Politics and Society)

Many headlines and reports in the past several years have highlighted location and housing preferences of Millennials. While Millennial home purchases stalled during the recession and subsequent years, Millennials were the largest share of home buyers in 2014. Since the economy is improving and more Millennials are getting older and forming new households, this trend is projected to continue.

Part III investigates how Utah’s generations compare to the nation regarding homeownership, hurdles to homeownership, and desirable community attributes. The comparison of Utah to the nation was done through a survey of 1,300 Utahns in four generations using questions from recent national surveys.

FINDINGS:

  • Utah has the second highest percentage of homeownership among Millennial households – in part due to more of them being married with children. (see page 2)
  • The percentage of Millennials who live with their parents is near (within 2%) of the national average. (see page 3)
  • For Utahns currently interested in homeownership, income, high debt other than student debt, and bad credit were the three most common hurdles preventing homeownership. (see page 5)
  • In Utah, both urban Millennials and Millennials who would like to move to big or medium-sized cities placed a higher value than their peers  in rural or less urban locations on community attributes such as shorter commutes, access to transit, and neighborhoods with a mix of shops and services. (see pages 7 to 9)
  • Utah Boomers and members of the Silent Generation were more likely than younger generations to want to live in small towns and to put high importance on communities with a mix of incomes. (see pages 6 and 8)

 

Click here for the Executive Summary of all four parts of the report.

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