US millennials face more difficulties to find starter homes: media

NEW YORK - Some US millennials are facing more difficulties to buy available starter homes, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.

In the United States, the first rung on the homeownership ladder has long been affordable starter homes, which have smaller footprints and selling prices and allow young homeowners to build wealth and upsize as they started their families, said the report.

A number of factors are complicating this decades-long trend, it said.

Supply of "entry-level housing" is at a five-decade low, said the report, adding that surging prices and stiff competition mean there aren't enough smaller and more affordable starter homes to go around in many regions.

The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent recession, along with the student debt crisis and delayed family formation, contributed to frustration and despair among younger house hunters, according to the journal.

As of 2020, the median age of a first-time home buyer in the United States was 33 years old, up from 30 years old a decade ago, which has far-reaching consequences for buyers' financial lives, according to the National Association of Realtors.

In addition to competing with other buyers, house hunters are sometimes competing with investors, hedge funds and other huge firms, according to previous reports from The Wall Street Journal.

"As the summer selling season winds down, some house hunters feel they may soon have to find a rental that can bridge the gap or simply save their energy so they can resume looking when prices cool off," said the report.