Another day, another set of data that shows that Millennials are now officially in the housing market.
Earlier this year, data from realtor.com showed that Millennials were responsible for more new mortgages in 2018 than any another generation.
Now, new data from the same source shows that Millennials' share of the mortgage market has only increased throughout this year.
According to a recently released study from realtor.com, approximately 46% of all primary mortgage originations in the second quarter were from Millennials, up from 43% last year. Meanwhile, the Generation X and Baby Boomer shares continued to fall. According to the report, which is based on data from Optimal Blue, Gen X's mortgage share fell from 38% last year to 36% this year, while Baby Boomers' share declined from 17% to 16%.
But, unlike their generational predecessors, Millennials are buying homes with less money up front, likely a combination of increased debt from other sources (student loans, for example) and the simple fact that they are younger and therefore have had less time to build up their savings.
According to the study, since last year, the average Millennial down payment percentage actually shrank from 8.9% to 8.2%, while Gen X and Baby Boomer down payments increased by 3 and 7 basis points, respectively.
The highest average down payment put down between 2014 and 2019 was made by Baby Boomers, who averaged between 14% and 20%. Gen X was the second highest down payment, averaging between 10% and 14%. The lowest down payment was from Millennials, who put 4% to 10% down, hovering around 8%.
As a result, Millennials are taking on more debt when buying homes, although not as much as Gen X, who are likely buying larger homes as their needs shift.
According to the study, the median price of a primary home purchased by millennials rose by 5% to $248,000 compared to last June. Millennials are increasingly purchasing more expensive homes at a greater rate than other generations, with Gen X and Baby Boomers only increasing their purchase prices by 4% and 2%, respectively.
The study notes that a price gap between the generations still exists, with Gen X buying homes that are $54,000 more expensive and Baby Boomers buying homes that are $22,000 more expensive than Millennials. However, the difference between the median Baby Boomer purchase price and Millennial purchase price has decreased considerably. In June of last year, the gap was nearly $30,000. This year, the gap shrank to only $22,000.
