The recession ended a decade ago. But in some ways, Virginia’s housing industry is just now starting to recover.
Homeownership rates in Virginia are finally starting to increase, a decade after the subprime lending crash sent the global financial order into crisis. And millennials are leading the trend.
Spencer Shanholtz at the University of Virginia says the homeownership rate for people under the age of 34 is rising much faster than the general population of adults — that’s especially true in exurban areas around Washington. DC, Hampton Roads and Richmond.
“The young Virginian age group is seeing the most gains now primarily because they saw the largest decline during the recession. They’re the most vulnerable to swings in the economy and therefore they’re rising faster than most at this point.”
Laura Goren at the Commonwealth Institute says the last hangover from the recession may just now be ending.
“The homeownership rate in Virginia was up to 66.6% in 2017 in Virginia, and that’s the first significant increase in the homeownership rate since the housing crisis.”
Although more millennials are buying homes, there’s another trend happening among young people. More of them are choosing to live with parents or close relatives. That takes them out of the calculation for people who own or rent.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
