Are You An Echo Boomer?

By Pat Riley
President and Chief Operating Officer
Allen Tate Realtors


Do you dream of owning your own home someday? The pundits want us to believe that your generation – born between 1980 and 1995 – are disenchanted with the dream of homeownership. But I, for one, don’t believe it for a moment, although for the first time in history, you’re not leading the charge in the housing recovery.

Here’s what I have heard and think:

You are concerned about education, leisure and people. They are very important to you at this time in your life.

You have more school debt than any generation prior to you.

You are in a very tight job market.

You are taking longer to settle down and plant roots in one place.

You are delaying having children.

You have limited savings and assets.

With all of these things to consider, many of you are waiting to purchase a home – renting now instead of buying. But renting should only be considered temporary. You will want to own a home that appreciates each year. You will want to be able to deduct interest and taxes. And more importantly, you will want a home to call your own.

The pundits have something new to say every day, especially when it comes to the real estate market and the economy, so it’s not surprising that they want to cast a pall over the dream of homeownership for young people who are simply waiting a bit longer than in past years. The notion that you, the “echo boomers,” are “out on homeownership” could not be further from the truth. Your time will come to become a homeowner, for sure.