You can’t solely blame the millennial generation for the delay into homeownership. In other parts of the world, like China, 70 percent of young adults are homeowners,
according to a new survey by HSBC, which evaluated homeownership rates of 9,000 people born between 1981 and 1998 in nine countries.
The homeownership rate of Chinese millennials is nearly double the global average of 40 percent. Following China, Mexican millennials came in second on the list with 46 percent of young adults there owning a home.
On the other hand, only 35 percent of American millennials are homeowners, according to the survey.
Here is the breakdown of the HSBC chart of millennial homeowners in the nine countries studied:
- China: 70% (the percentage of millennial homeowners)
- Mexico: 46%
- France: 41%
- Malaysia: 35%
- United States: 35%
- Canada: 34%
- United Kingdom: 31%
- Australia: 28%
- United Arab Emirates: 26%
Chinese millennials are drawn to becoming homeowners from younger ages. For example, more than nine in 10 Chinese millennials who don’t currently own a home say they plan to buy over the next five years—11 percentage points higher than American millennial renters.
China ironically is home to seven of the top 10 priciest real estate markets in the world. So, how are millennials able to afford homeownership? Often times, parents and grandparents pool their money together to invest in buying a property in their adult child’s name. Owning a home is thought to make millennial Chinese men more desirable for marriage, housing analysts note.
"Many love stories fail to turn to marriage if the men fail to provide a marital house," Dr. Jieyu Liu, deputy director of the SOAS China Institute,
told the BBC.
American millennials may receive less help in financing their home purchase. Among home buyers age 36 or younger, a quarter say they’ve used a gift from a relative or friend to help pay for a down payment on a home, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ 2017 Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends study.
Source: “Millennials in China Are Twice as Likely to Own Homes as Young Americans,” Time.com (April 10, 2017)
