NAHB analysis reveals significant pent-up housing demand from key demographic. Looking at research conducted by Judith Dey and Charles Pierret using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1997 on “Boomerang Millennials” who moved out of their parents house only to move back in are more likely to be college educated and have parents who make more money.
Ninety percent of those born between 1980 and 1984 left home before the age of 27 – but then more than half returned to their parents’ homes. Of that group, those with a Bachelor’s degree or higher had the highest share of returning to the parental home at 55.5%. Meanwhile, those born between 1980 and 1984 with a high school degree had the lowest share returning to the parental home at 42.1%.
When looking at parental income, the research reveals that parents in the top half of the income distribution experienced a higher occurrence of boomerang children than those in the bottom half. Another interesting area of comparison is women vs. men. Women are more likely to boomerang, but they are also more likely to leave again.
The study also showed that among these millennials home ownership remained one of the ultimate goals. This delay in household formation is expected to lead to pent-up demand and housing growth in the coming years.