Homeownership among older millennials was 36.9 percent in 2014, nearly 10 percentage points lower than in 2006. Half those who are renting instead of buying cite down payment and closing costs as their biggest barrier to homeownership.
About 1 in 17 “adult children” between the ages of 20 and 49 who are not already homeowners receive substantial assistance from The Bank of Mom and Dad, according to Fannie Mae’s National Housing Survey. The likelihood of receiving assistance varies with age, race and ethnicity though.
Offspring of parents in the highest quartile of wealth distribution are about eight times more likely to get parental assistance than those in the lowest quartile. Among those who receive assistance, homeownership increased 13 percent during a two-year period.
Non-Hispanic white children are several times more likely to receive a transfer than Hispanic and black children. The report said The Bank of Mom and Dad would have a limited effect on homeownership for millennials, a large racially and ethnically diverse generation. However, Fannie Mae offers products such as its HomeReady loan, that offers lower down payment requirements for credit-worthy low-and-moderate-income borrowers.
An interesting finding from Fannie Mae: Children with parents who have a college degree or higher are less likely to become home buyers than children of parents with less than a high school education if given the same amount of resources.
