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Millennials and Non-White Americans Most Likely to Associate Homeownership with the American Dream

Millennials and their grandparents are most likely to associate homeownership with the American Dream, and people of color are more likely than white people to connect the two, according to the latest Zillow® Housing Confidence Index (ZHCI).

- Among people of various races, Hispanic survey respondents most associate homeownership with the American Dream, at 70 percent.

- Among people of different generations, millennials are most likely to associate the two, at 65 percent.

- Despite the association, fewer millennial renters -- 46 percent -- expressed confidence they would be able to afford a home, compared to six months ago, when 50 percent did.

Mar 1, 2016

SEATTLE, March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Millennials and people of color are most likely to associate homeownership with the American Dream, according to the latest Zillow® Housing Confidence Index (ZHCI)i.

Among people 18-34 years old, 65 percent said homeownership and the American Dream go hand-in-hand. That's more than any other generation. Similar to millennials, 64 percent of respondents age 65 and older said homeownership is necessary for the good life and the American Dream.

People-of-color also were more likely than white people to consider homeownership integral to the American Dream. Of Hispanic respondents surveyed, 70 percent agreed that owning their own home is necessary to live the American Dream, followed by 64 percent of Asian respondents and 63 percent of black respondents. Almost 60 percent of white respondents agreed.

The survey results come at a time when rising rents and stagnant incomes are making it tough for many Americans to buy homes. Millennials are renting longer than past generations as they put off major life decisions, but Zillow's survey shows millennials value homeownership more than their parents and grandparents.

The rising confidence of millennials and Hispanics, in particular, are helping to drive rising overall confidence in the housing market. Confidence in the housing market overall has increased from six months ago, to a headline index of 66.9. An index number over 50 indicates general confidence.

With their faith in the value of homeownership and their optimism in the market, these groups will play a key role in ensuring the stability of the market as demographics change. For example, millennial households have more confidence in the housing market compared to the general population, and expect home values to appreciate 5 percent annually over the next 10 years.

"The American Dream is really about opportunity, which means a lot of things to a lot of different people. For young Americans and Americans of color, the opportunity to own a home is a big part of that dream," said Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Svenja Gudell. "It's often assumed that homeownership holds little interest for these groups, or that they may feel the challenges in achieving homeownership aren't worth the benefits. But that's simply not true, and their optimism and determination today will be hugely important to the stability and growth of the housing market tomorrow. These Americans represent the next generation of U.S. homeowners, and for homeownership to eventually become a reality, it has to start as a dream."

The semi-annual U.S. Housing Confidence Survey (HCS), sponsored by Zillow and conducted by Pulsenomics LLC, asks 10,000 renters and homeowners about the condition of their local real estate market, their expectations for home value growth and affordability in the future, and their views on homeownership.

"Amidst turbulent financial markets and unsettling election year politics, confidence in the U.S. housing market has proven resilient in recent months, even as investor confidence, business confidence, and consumer economic sentiment have wavered," said Terry Loebs, Founder of Pulsenomics. "Housing confidence has increased in every metro area surveyed over the past two years and fueled the market recovery. This is reassuring in the face of economic and financial market headwinds."   

Metropolitan Area

Hispanic
Respondents
Who Agreeii

Asian
Respondents
Who Agree

Black
Respondents
Who Agree

White
Respondents
Who Agree

United States

69.7%

63.7%

62.9%

57.6%

New York/Northern New Jersey

74.3%

60.3%

59.3%

57.4%

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

75.0%

67.8%

67.7%

64.2%

Chicago, IL

76.4%

82.9%

63.4%

61.2%

Dallas-Fort Worth, TX

61.0%

66.7%

72.2%

62.2%

Philadelphia, PA

66.7%

71.9%

56.3%

54.9%

Washington, DC

61.9%

60.3%

60.5%

57.0%

Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL

75.4%

66.7%

62.2%

64.3%

Atlanta, GA

66.7%

78.8%

65.6%

52.0%

Boston, MA

74.4%

68.9%

67.7%

61.8%

San Francisco, CA

66.3%

61.3%

72.5%

47.8%

Detroit, MI

87.5%

62.5%

62.0%

62.8%

Phoenix, AZ

69.9%

51.5%

72.7%

58.6%

Seattle, WA

70.3%

59.3%

52.0%

54.6%

Minneapolis-St Paul, MN

9.1%

42.9%

77.4%

53.9%

San Diego, CA

57.6%

54.8%

58.3%

57.2%

St. Louis, MO

45.5%

70.6%

57.6%

55.7%

Tampa, FL

69.4%

50.0%

60.0%

59.1%

Denver, CO

72.6%

65.5%

53.8%

53.4%

Las Vegas, NV

79.0%

61.9%

65.3%

59.5%

San Jose, CA

69.9%

69.6%

58.3%

57.7%

 

Metropolitan Area

18-34 Year
Olds Who
Agree

35-49 Year
Olds Who
Agree

50-64 Year
Olds Who
Agree

65+ Year
Olds Who
Agree

United States

65.3%

58.4%

56.9%

63.9%

New York/Northern New Jersey

72.5%

71.0%

44.8%

54.7%

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

86.9%

57.7%

62.0%

64.4%

Chicago, IL

69.2%

62.8%

64.3%

66.7%

Dallas-Fort Worth, TX

71.4%

56.6%

59.7%

67.8%

Philadelphia, PA

44.0%

64.6%

56.3%

69.4%

Washington, DC

62.9%

54.8%

55.0%

65.2%

Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL

73.0%

66.9%

68.0%

65.3%

Atlanta, GA

59.6%

59.0%

57.4%

62.9%

Boston, MA

74.2%

60.8%

54.5%

63.9%

San Francisco, CA

64.5%

53.7%

50.0%

60.0%

Detroit, MI

71.2%

58.7%

58.1%

67.0%

Phoenix, AZ

78.7%

37.0%

62.2%

63.4%

Seattle, WA

56.0%

57.4%

52.8%

61.4%

Minneapolis-St Paul, MN

55.9%

43.7%

54.5%

59.7%

San Diego, CA

54.1%

58.1%

53.8%

67.6%

St. Louis, MO

60.1%

50.0%

53.6%

61.4%

Tampa, FL

55.3%

64.7%

57.2%

65.4%

Denver, CO

57.8%

55.1%

56.8%

64.2%

Las Vegas, NV

70.4%

65.1%

60.0%

63.5%

San Jose, CA

66.2%

70.1%

58.3%

65.3%

About Zillow
Zillow® is the leading real estate and rental marketplace dedicated to empowering consumers with data, inspiration and knowledge around the place they call home, and connecting them with the best local professionals who can help. In addition, Zillow operates an industry-leading economics and analytics bureau led by Zillow's Chief Economist Dr. Svenja Gudell. Dr. Gudell and her team of economists and data analysts produce extensive housing data and research covering more than 450 markets at Zillow Real Estate Research. Zillow also sponsors the quarterly Zillow Home Price Expectations Survey, which asks more than 100 leading economists, real estate experts and investment and market strategists to predict the path of the Zillow Home Value Index over the next five years. Zillow also sponsors the bi-annual Zillow Housing Confidence Index (ZHCI) which measures consumer confidence in local housing markets, both currently and over time. Launched in 2006, Zillow is owned and operated by Zillow Group (NASDAQ: Z and ZG), and headquartered in Seattle.

Zillow is a registered trademark of Zillow, Inc.

About Pulsenomics:
Pulsenomics LLC is an independent research and consulting firm that specializes in data analytics, new product and index development for institutional clients in the financial and real estate arenas. Pulsenomics also designs and manages expert surveys and consumer polls to identify trends and expectations that are relevant to effective business management and monitoring economic health. Pulsenomics LLC is the author of The Home Price Expectations Survey™, The U.S. Housing Confidence Survey, and The U.S. Housing Confidence Index. Pulsenomics®, The Housing Confidence Index™, and The Housing Confidence Survey™ are trademarks of Pulsenomics LLC.

i The ZHCI is computed by Pulsenomics from data compiled by the Zillow-sponsored U.S. Housing Confidence Survey (HCS), consisting of more than 10,000 completed household interviews with adult landline and cellphone users nationwide. ZHCI is a diffusion index measured on a 100-point scale, with readings above 50 indicating a surplus of confidence in the housing market. This edition of the ZHCI is derived from data collected in the January 2016 edition of the HCS, conducted between January 6 and January 14, 2016. At a 95% confidence interval, the theoretical margin of sampling error for an aggregated, household-weighted sample of 10,000 (comprised of 20 metro-level probability samples of 500 each) is +/- 1.2%, and larger for sub-groups (e.g., +/- 1.5% for all homeowner households, and +/- 2.0% for all renter households). More than 350,000 consumer responses pertaining to the real estate market where each survey respondent lives are recorded by Pulsenomics to produce each edition of the ZHCI. To view or download all 252 index values that comprise each edition of the ZHCI data set, or to learn more about the ZHCI calculation methodology, please visit Zillow.com/research or pulsenomics.com.
ii The sample sizes for minority subgroups are proportional to the composition of each MSA's household population.

 

 

SOURCE Zillow

For further information: Media Contact, Jordyn Lee, Zillow, press@zillow.com