What Are They “Killing” This Time? (Part Two)

Last week it was diamonds, and now the blood of yet another market is supposedly on the hands of Millennials.

Mashable culture writer Chloe Bryan recently said, “Millennials are many things, but above all, they are murderers. Indeed, if an alien landed on Earth and read a few headlines, they would likely believe millennials are nothing but ruthless life-ruiners, determined to crush every outdated workplace concept or fast food product standing in their way.”

And she’s right — everywhere you look, millennials are being accused of having a hand in the downfall of quite possibly everything.

Take a look at what a search on today, September 6th reveals:

Our utmost apologies, but we’re not here to discuss the apparent millennial mayonnaise crisis. (Which proved to be pretty false — what a relief!)

We’re here to talk about “starter homes” and the housing market as a whole. If you haven’t figured this out yet — millennials have been accused of killing at least one, if not both.

Lots of young people are staying at home longer — we knew that. Think: “my adult offspring won’t get out of my basement rhetoric.” But what does this mean?

Okay, we know how this sounds, as if millennials are running loose with heaps of disposable income buying up every mansion in sight , but it’s not all wrong. Essentially, millennials are just skipping what used to be a major first step as a first-time home buyer: the starter home. It’s the one you know is just a stepping stone, your first place. It’s the one you intend to move on from once funds improve. But now, people are shifting toward waiting to buy entirely until they can afford their dream home. Why?

Only yesterday, CNBC reported that folks are renting for longer, because more now than ever, renting isn’t such a bad option in most places.  However, this means that homes in the “affordable” starter price range just aren’t selling like they used to. Because these homes used to be a crucial first step, there are a lot of them. We can see the problem here.

A post from real estate search giant Trulia really breaks down these woes:

And so, do we blame millennials? They don’t seem to blame themselves.

In response to the Forbes article that appears in the beginning of this post, an assumedly young tweeter eludes to the fact that perhaps the blame is to cast upon older generations who built the market that young people now struggle in.

No matter what happened, it might be best to cease standing around pointing fingers at one another, and take this for what it is — a change. Just as changing millennial preferences and attitudes about diamonds forced the industry to revamp their marketing techniques, this situation prompts us to rethink housing. Earlier this year, suggestions began popping up to try renting out “starter homes” when they don’t sell if it’s financially possible for the homeowner. It’s not ideal, as everyone wants a big chunk of change to invest in their next home instead of a relatively small check from a tenant each month, but it could be better than nothing at all given the current circumstances.

Back to this whole “killing” thing — it’s pretty aggressive, and pinning it on one single generation is even more so. This blog is not here to definitively say who is to be “officially” blamed for anything, really, but rather to look at the attitudes and media coverage that got us here, and where we might be going.

For more posts about millennials and their relative association with certain economic downturns, check back for part three of “What Are They Killing This Time?”.