More Than 70 Percent of Millennials Value Homeownership As Top Milestone

According to a new homebuyer insights report by Bank of America, 72 percent of Millennials value homeownership as the most important milestone, more than marriage (50 percent) and having children (44 percent).

Kathy Cummings, senior vice president of homeownership solutions and affordable housing programs at Bank of America, suggests that Millennials value homeownership so highly as it offers a feeling of maturity and responsibility, along with feeling "more like an adult." CNBC reports that over half of Millennial survey respondents view homeownership as synonymous with "personal success," and more than 33 percent say that homeownership would make them feel "independent" or "established." The top milestone priority overall at 80 percent was being able to retire.

Currently, about two-thirds of millennials don't have retirement savings, according to a 2018 report by the National Institute on Retirement Security. Millennials who do have retirement savings hold a median balance of $19,100.

However, Cummings points out, unlike older generations, young people "have the information available to them very readily [and] are learning about how to establish" those retirement accounts. For millennials, it's a topic that's "very much top of mind," she says.

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