American homeowners have $9.4 trillion in tappable home equity. The average wealthy American homeowner can take $178,000 out of their home to start their business, build a pool, or go on vacations.

Home prices bottomed out in 2012 and started to rise at a moderate annual rate of about 5% over the next eight years. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, they have been soaring.

The need to work from home creates great housing demand. The median U.S. home price rose 25.50% in the 15 months between the quarter ending in June 2020 and the quarter ending in September 2021. 

Economic indicators signal that home prices will keep rising because the housing market has serious supply problems. 

Moreover, most real estate deals are all-cash transactions or quality financing. Interest-only loans, a “choose-your-own-payment” loan, and a balloon payment loan are things in the past. 

Real estate is one of the top 3 ways to build wealth in America, with entrepreneurship and investing in the stock markets as the other two ways.

The millennial generation is at the peak of its homebuying age (25-40), but it faces a significant shortage in the supply of houses for sale. Millennials are missing out on a chance to start building real wealth for themselves and their kids. Also, they are having trouble saving for a down payment, finding a home in their price range, or both.

Baby boomers and the Silent Generation are people who benefit the most from the rising home valuations. They also don’t want to downsize.  

  Below is a breakdown of  homeownership by age or generation:

1. Millennials (25-40)-43.3%
2. Generation X (41-56)-67%
3. Baby Boomers (57-75)-77.1%
4. Silent Generation (76+)-77.3%

The national homeownership rate has not bounced back from its pre-Great Recession high at 70%. The current rate now stands at 64.8%.

Most millennials want to be homeowners, but student loan debts burden them. More than 45 million Americans hold about $1.7 trillion in federal student debt.