Millennials are no longer sure about those pandemic moves

The Future. The pandemic, remote work, and the desire to take advantage of low interest rates sent some people off into the woods (the suburbs and semi-rural areas), looking for houses they could finally afford and made sense for their lives… and now they kind of regret it. The next few years could see the return of many of those homesteaders, who’ll now have to contend with higher rents than when they left.

Housing existential crisis
For some people, moving to get that four-bedroom, two-bath house isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

• Millennials have, by and large, been late bloomers when it comes to establishing their careers, moving into homes, and starting families… so when the opportunity to skip ahead a few years arrived, people jumped on it. (Heck, even Gen Z did.)
• How many did so, really? The National Association of Realtors found “54% of homebuyers between the ages of 31 and 40 bought homes in a suburb or subdivision, while 31% opted to buy in a small town or rural area.” So, yeah, it was a migration.
• But, many are now reporting whiplash — more difficulty in finding community, both professionally and personally, and lacking amenities and “third spaces” they enjoyed in the city (where millennials have typically gravitated).

Why such a jarring change? Because, even with the low interest rates, millennials still had to move far outside of cities to afford homes. For most, the American Dream is only possible by going very, very remote.