There was some article I remember about how the Millennial generation was choosing not to buy houses or consumer goods at at large of a volume as previous generations because they preferred things that way. It was like this one, a bunch of statistics + one or two anecdotal examples.
It's nonsense, it's economic circumstances, and coping.
That's the thing. A few people do, and enough people have seen that first or second hand to recognize a kernel of truth in the bullshit the article is peddling. The article then just uses a few stats to bully the average person's perceived ability to push back on the BS and spins a narrative to fill the void they just opened up in your mind. It's likely to "succeed" despite being extremely probably wrong.
For some, it is a choice (and one I'm very happy with, having lived in a household full of 'stuff' which upon reflection, was overwhelming and depressing). For others, I understand it isn't.
By 2019, Millenials were making more money than Boomers or Gen X were making at the same age. Roughly the same percentage owned homes as young adults, 50% for Boomers, 48% for Millenials. Housing costs for Millenials in 2019 were a little higher than for Boomers in 1987 and a little lower than for Gen X in 2005.
Millenials have a little less wealth than previous generations at the same age, if you don't count a college education as wealth.
The fastest path to these "milestones" is to skip the traditional incremental steps. If you want to own a home, living with your parents and saving your entire paycheque is the fast track. Not to mention how much cheaper retirement is if you purchase it with younger dollars.
That is what I am doing and a lot of my friends are doing. Skip the roommate/renting phase of life in exchange for faster ownership of property and an earlier/richer retirement.
Till they decide to have kids, or some privacy. I know having kids is not en vogue like it used to be, but still plenty of folks want and will want them, plus you cant erase biological needs of women that easily.
Multigenerational households make having kids easier. People do it in the rest of the world—the aversion to it is a distinctly Northern European thing.
It's nonsense, it's economic circumstances, and coping.