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62 | TH E M R EP O RT O R I G I NAT I O N S E R V I C I N G A NA LY T I C S S E C O N DA R Y M A R K E T SECONDARY MARKET THE LATEST The Nagging Millennial Issue Will the share of households headed by millennials improve in the near term? O ne of the most nagging issues in the hous- ing industry since the recession has been the dearth of young homeown- ers. And that news is staying bad for now. According to Fannie Mae, the national homeownership rate of households headed by 25- to 34-year-olds has fallen by about 10 percentage points to 37 percent since the peak of the housing bubble in 2006. This drop-off in younger buyers leads a generally down homeownership rate overall. In fact, Fannie Mae reported that national homeownership rates have hit multi-decade lows, with a decline of roughly 4 points over the same time period. The young-adult homeowner - ship decline has also been linked with several housing market shifts, including low shares of first-time homebuyers and suppressed starter home construction, that have contributed to housing's glacial recovery. The trouble is, where housing has recovered, younger buyers face a major obstacle in how much homes cost. "Greater young-adult homeown - ership demand could signal grow- ing needs for starter homes, af- fordable home purchase mortgage products, education and counseling efforts targeted at inexperienced homeowners, and other ser - vices and technologies suitable for youthful homebuyers," said Patrick Simmons, director of Fannie Mae's Strategic Planning Economic & Strategic Research Group. "However, tight supply and rapid price gains in the lower tiers of the home sales market are increasingly hampering first-time homebuyer affordability, and endangering the budding recovery in young-adult homebuying demand." Simmons added that "mounting affordability challenges at a time when the young-adult homeown - ership rebound is just beginning highlight the importance of con- tinued industry efforts to provide housing and mortgage products that meet the needs of the grow- ing number of potential young homebuyers." Encouragingly, Fannie Mae reported, the homeownership at - tainment gaps Millennials face "are not immutable." millennials can catch up with prior generations as economic and housing market con - ditions improve, and indeed young adult homeownership attainment accelerated between 2012 and 2014. This is "particularly notable, given that several factors weighed against a homeownership rebound during the early housing recovery," such as tight job markets and credit restrictions, the report stated. But while jobs are picking up and credit is loosening, millennials still face a daunting task in buying homes, and the housing economy needs millennials to be able to af - ford homes, the report stated. Leading, innovating and driving excellence. A Woman's Place is in the Housing Industry. Thank you, Pam Kosanke for your continued work in fueling Renters Warehouse to new heights in the SFR market, and congratulations for being honored as an accomplished Woman in Housing. RentersWarehouse.com | #RentEstate