Millennials Reject Homeownership: 'This Generation Wants an Easier Lifestyle'

Speaking at The Lodge at Torrey Pines in San Diego on Thursday, UBS Financial’s chief information officer, Michael Woloshin, said that millennials are not buying homes at the rate their parents once did.

“It’s not that they don’t want to own things,” Woloshin told the crowd of 75, according to the San Diego Union Tribune. “It’s not that they don’t like having things, but it’s a generation that is much more comfortable with a phrase I never understood in my life, which is ‘work-life balance.'”

“This is a generation that wants an easier lifestyle, and it’s not that they don’t want to work hard,” he added. “They want the 24-7 amenity rich, everything at their fingertips, so they have the flexibility to do things.”

The UBS executive said several factors could be leading this generation of young professionals to hold off on buying a home. Many are still wary of the nation’s economic recovery after the Great Recession; many have burdensome student loans; most are content to rent for extended periods of time.

Woloshin also said that before the housing market crashed in 2008, millennials actually bought more houses than most other age groups. But when the bubble ultimately burst, millennials got burned and may not want to own again.

“I just think that we’re not going to have this, ‘oh, they’re going from 23 to 27, they’re going to get married, have kids, and buy a home,” he said. 

There could be another reason fewer millennials are buying homes: According to a Pew Research Poll released this week, 39% of Americans age 16-24 do not want to work, up from 29% in 2000. That number includes 28.9% of men who say they do not want to find a job.