That'll likely change when they wake up and see the shit they have to put up with, or if someone sat them down and showed them how much money they're dumping down a hole either through rent, or by condos, which drop first, and recover last.
My BFF and I just had a discussion a week or so about "young people" not interested in buying houses. She's president of an organization that over a 100 county HOA's belong to, on the board of Scenic ******, and is very politically - non-party affiliated, but keeping to building codes & zoning, trying to eliminate "good ole boys" backroom dealings with new development, etc. - involved with the MetroPolitan Planning Commission, Building Codes Enforcement, County Commissioners and City Council. When she started getting involved in all this stuff about 3-4 years ago, I told her she was tilting at windmills....but I have to give her a lot of credit...they are starting to pay a lot of attention to her! I'm her "go to" resource for real estate... particularly statistical data regarding the housing market in certain areas of town, and some other stuff with real estate.
Back to discussion... she said she had heard the same thing from some members of a couple of groups...(all who live in "high end housing"...)
Here is what we determined after a lengthly discussion of whether or not "young adults" are interested in owning their own homes. ..
(If) you are in your 20-30's, you have tens of thousands of college tuition debt, you have a job making less than $35,000 a year, you have a car payment, maybe married, maybe have a kid or two, credit may or may not be stellar (which it almost has to be these days to qualify for a house)...
Someone - whether it be on the phone, internet, etc - asks you if you will be buying a house in the next 6 mos, what are you going to say?
What's you answer going to be?
A. I don't want to be tied down to a mortgage.
B. I don't want to take care of a yard.
C. I like apartment living with a pool, tennis court, people to hang with
D. All of the above.
or....
E. I don't make enough money to buy a house.
F. I don't qualify for a mortgage...because of debt to income ratio, or credit score.
G. I won't live in the area I can afford because of gangs, murders, drugs. etc.
H. E-G all apply.
BFF and I each have 2 kids. Our daughters have mortgages because they are married and dual incomes were considered, and all 4 are making in excess of $50K/year. Our sons aren't married, neither can afford a house on their sole incomes - where either one would be willing to live. Both of our sons would admit to not being able to afford one to their friends because many of their friends are in the same boat, but I seriously doubt they would tell a stranger they couldn't.
Just like everything else to do with the housing industry, the data is skewed to fit whatever the desired result.