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M REPORT | 53 O R I G I NAT I O N S E R V I C I N G DATA G O V E R N M E N T S E C O N DA R Y M A R K E T THE LATEST DATA Homeownership Rate Rose for Young Adults Prospective buyers between the ages of 24 and 34 saw a spike in housing—finally. A recent report from the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) Discusses Econom- ics and Housing Policy (NAHB) highlights 2018 headship trends and found that for the first time in de- cades, young adults whose ages fall between 25-34 is a demographic that saw quite a spike in headship rates. For a generation previously having spent the last few decades in a state of continuous decline, the U.S. headship rates of young adults—of which the majority seemed to be trending toward living back at home with parents, relatives, or living up with room- mates due to financial debts and such—showed a positive shift toward homeownership that ap- pears as a hopeful omen that the tides may finally be turning. However, many experts wonder if these positive and hopeful shifts can be sustained through the tidal wave that has been the coronavirus outbreak. Much of whether or not this shift can be maintained by young adults will depend upon the collateral damage from the corona- virus, specifically the intensity and duration of job loss, unemployment, and wage disappearance. Although the surge in 2018 headship rates among young adults was largely contributed to less of these individuals returning home to live with relatives or opt for co-sharing households with roommates and other communal living situations, data still shows that there remains a large repre- sentation of young adults that are still enjoying the fruits of dwelling back at home with relatives in order to save on rent and get out of financial holes. A report by Ellie Mae, though, found the refinance share for all loans closed to millennial home- owners in February was 34%, which is tied for the highest share since Ellie Mae began tracking this data in 2016. Conventional loans represented 75% of all loans closed by this group for the month. The refi- nance share rose to 41% as average rates for this loan type fell to 3.86% from 3.98%. The Ellie Mae Millennial Tracker now divides millennials into two groups—older millenni- als (between 30 and 40-years-old) and younger millennials (between 21 and 29-years-old). Older millen- nials accounted for 41% of all loans closed for millennials, compared to just 18% for younger millennials. Younger millennials saw their average interest rate on all loans fall to 3.83% from 3.9% month-over- month. The average rates for older millennials fell monthly to 3.85% from 3.95%. Much of whether or not this shift can be maintained by young adults will depend upon the collateral damage from the coronavirus, specifically the intensity and duration of job loss, unemployment, and wage disappearance.