Why Millennials aren’t buying cars or houses, and what that means for the economy
In 2009, Ford brought its new supermini, the Fiesta, over from Europe in a brave attempt to attract the attention of young Americans. It passed out 100 of the cars to influential bloggers for a free six-month test-drive, with just one condition: document your experience online, whether you love the Fiesta or hate it.
Young bloggers loved the car. Young drivers? Not so much. After a brief burst of excitement, in which Ford sold more than 90,000 units over 18 months, Fiesta sales plummeted. As of April 2012, they were down 30 percent from 2011. Continue reading The Cheapest Generation | The Atlantic →
By Chris Arnold
Home sales have fizzled in part because Americans in their 20s and 30s are choosing not to buy. Only 16 percent of new home sales are to first-time homebuyers.
A year ago, the housing market looked like it was finally recovering. Sales and prices were picking up. But then home sales fizzled. Currently, they are down about 7 percent from last spring.
A big part of why housing remains so stunted is that there are more than 2 million “missing households” in the U.S. That’s how economists describe the fact that fewer people are striking out on their own to find places to live. Continue reading Sluggish Housing Market A Product Of Millions Of ‘Missing Households’ : NPR →
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