The amount of single young adults who are fully employed has increased from 25% in 1976 to 40% in 2013. But married young adults where both spouses worked full time declined from 25% in 1976 to 15% in 2013, and plenty of these youngsters (who don’t live with Mom and Dad) are paying some pretty hefty rents. Zillow reports rents have jumped 7% nationwide over the past year, as the average renter now spends 30% of their income on rent. This large cohort of young adults are driving the overall homeownership rate down as they are less likely to own a home. The creation of household formations plays an important role in homeownership rates among young adults and is one of the main reasons the average age of first time home buyers is now 31 years old. That is one of the reasons why there are so many new gigantic apartment complexes being built right now…
