STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Friday, 11 July 2014

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32. Daughter Doesn’t Buy Dad’s Cheering of U.S. Homeownership

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-11/daughter-doesn-t-buy-dad-s-cheerleading-for-u-s-homeownership.html

David Stevens, chief executive officer of the Mortgage Bankers Association, has spent his career touting the merits of homeownership. One person still isn’t buying it: his daughter.

Sara Stevens, 27, knows interest rates are low, rents are high and owning a home can build wealth. She also had a front-row seat to the worst real-estate slump since the Great Depression.

“The world has changed,” she said.

Six years since the collapse of Lehman Brothers triggered a financial meltdown, some young adults are more risk averse and view the potential upsides of status and wealth more skeptically than before the crisis, altering the homeownership calculation. It’s more than the weight of student loans, an iffy job market and tight credit -- even those who can buy are hesitant.

The doubt is so pervasive that it’s eroded entry-level sales and hampered the recovery. In May, the share of first-time buyers fell for the third month, to 27 percent, according to the National Association of Realtors. Historically, it’s been closer to 40 percent of all buyers.