A housing report found homeownership is increasingly an inherited advantage, with children of homeowners often building more housing wealth than children of renters.
Down payment help, gifted equity, and inherited property are playing a bigger role, making family transfers more influential in who ultimately becomes a homeowner.
The same research linked slower household formation, weaker labor markets, lower consumer confidence, and heavier financial burdens on younger households to shifting housing demand.
For context on affordability, the median existing single-family home now sells for nearly five times median household income, showing how access has narrowed.
Only a small share of renters earn enough to qualify for buying, while labor income alone is becoming less effective for saving and wealth building.
