- General Electric Power Conversion To Move North American Headquarters to Houston [HBJ]
- St. Francis Episcopal Day School Planning New High School on 23-Acre Plot in Piney Point Village [HBJ]
- Mark’s American Cuisine in Montrose Suspending Restaurant Service May 29 To Become Events Space [Houston Chronicle]
- RDG + Bar Annie on Post Oak Going Back to Former Cafe Annie Name [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
- More Than 21% of Houston Millennials Live at Home With Their Parents, Finds Zillow [HBJ]
- Montgomery and Fort Bend Added to List of Counties Eligible for Post-Flood FEMA Aid [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
- More Than 10,000 Households Experienced Some Form of Flooding Last Month, Latest Report Shows [Space City Weather; previously on Swamplot]
- Parts of Westheimer Parkway and Clay Road That Were Formerly Flooded Reopen [Houston Chronicle]
Photo: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool
Headlines
Well, crap. No more of my expense-account dining at Mark’s. Always loved the food and atmosphere; over-talkative waiters, not so much.
Here comes the inter-generational hate because of an article about millennials living at home.
Speaking of millennials, two of my engineers who fall into the category are moving in with their parents…
I can only think that high rents and irresponsible spending habits are forcing this.
Gisgo, right on! I went there once and was incredibly turned off by our obsequious server who literally used “amazing” and “incredible” to describe each item he suggested. Then he would ask if each item was “amazing” and “incredible” as the plates were cleared.
Mark’s was doomed. The food was awful and awfully overpriced. The interior, however, is spectacular. They can easily make the Astoria run for their money. What’s the average wedding cost in Houston? 45K?
People should be watching the millennials and their attitudes towards houses fairly closely. The boomer generation is notoriously underfunded for retirement and in general put lots of money into their houses. Many are going to need to tap those houses for the necessary funds for retirement, which will mean a lot of supply hitting the market in the next decade or so. If millennials are unable to pick up some of that excess supply we could be looking at some significant, if incredibly slow and drawn out, downward pressure on the housing market.
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One strong piece of evidence for the boomer need to tap home equity is the rampant increases in the application numbers for reverse mortgages, a generally ugly little piece of financial wizardry that is really only attractive to someone who is desperate for cash, or really really really sure they’re gonna die soon. There’s been some regulatory pushback on this but there are already people losing their homes because of these. And it’s not like the banks that will be seizing houses from these reverse mortgages are going to be living in them, they’ll be hitting the market.
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So anyways. Long story short, boomers and the rest of us honestly better get down on their knees and start praying that the millennials will be there to catch the supply that will be hitting the market in the coming years.
As another interesting point on reverse mortgage stuff, this page breaks down where we’re seeing the most reverse mortgages showing up, and it’s fairly telling:
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http://reversemortgagedaily.com/2016/01/10/top-cities-for-reverse-mortgage-volume-in-2015/
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LA. Reno. Miami/Florida. What do these cities have in common when it comes to housing stuff? Seems like any time there’s an oncoming storm it hits them the hardest.
Millennials are moving in with their parents after college to save money. Thirty years ago, the last of the Boomers shared apartments with friends after college to save money. Millennials are moving in with their parents instead of with friends because (a) they get free/reduced room and board, and fewer responsibilities, and (b) since they’ve never had to share a room as Boomers did (people had more kids in the 1960s, and in the 1980s we had shared dorm rooms vs the singles that kids demand now), it hasn’t occurred to them, or they think it’s somehow icky or creepy, to share an apartment with a friend.
I wouldn’t mind having my kids stick around after college. They’re the only ones that listen to my crap. (my wife is rolling her eyes)
GoogleMaster, The millennials are larger than any previous generation. Sharing a dorm or room with someone will generally ruin your friendship. People are gross, and perhaps the luck of the draw, It’s frustrating to pick up after slobs. There are still shared rooms and “general” bathrooms in many universities still. Moody Towers @ UH & a majority of Texas’ private christian universities come to mind. Being a part of this generation, I know NO ONE that has become a boomerang child. Plenty of people still have roommates. How do you think these 2B 2B $2,700 apartments get snatched up so quickly? I’ve actually seen parents move in with their kids, because hard work and a strong education usually means more money. Every straight married couple that I know has bought a house in the burbs to start a family. Leaving the purchasing in the city to the gays, the rich, the singles, and the mature. Unless you like living in a shoe box or a roach motel, it”s impossible to find a decently priced place. Google it.
@Montrose1100, thanks for proving my point. “People are gross, and perhaps the luck of the draw, It’s frustrating to pick up after slobs.” illustrates both sides of the argument, i.e. both “they think it’s somehow icky or creepy, to share an apartment” and “they’ve never had to share a room” (otherwise they would have learned how not to be a slob).
@GoogleMaster, Millenials don’t like living with roommates? Are you kidding? I graduated in 2009 and I STILL don’t know but a few people in the STEM fields who can even afford to live alone.
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I lived with 3 roommates for years, as did most of the other people I know in my age group.
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Millenials are moving in with their parents because both the rental and job landscapes are impossibly skewed in the favor of landlords and employers.
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For three years I lived in a 4 bedroom apartment where myself and 3 other girls paid $680/month each to essentially lease our bedrooms and share a common living/kitchen area. I loved it, but it often felt crowded.
I’m sure the girls living in that apartment now are paying well over $700 for their bedrooms.
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I also worked two jobs during that time, which was no small feat in a job landscape where “entry level” is defined as already having 2 to 3 years experience, jobs REQUIRING a bachelors degree offer a whopping $12 an hour (and little to no benefits), and you’re expected to be okay being a “contractor” employee who works 40 hours a week, 52 weeks per year.
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And even with all that, I could barely feed myself, and struggled to keep up with my bills.
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I finally gave up the ghost and moved home and I don’t regret it. I’m nowhere near as stressed or as broke.
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It’s really unfair when people try to cast Millenials as “picky” or “lazy” or “irresponsible” because it shows they really have no idea what this generation is going through.
I think living with family is a great idea. Many immigrants, in particular, have great success with it. It will be the only way I will ever live in a $750k+ house. You also have the benefit of multiple cooks, buying in bulk and ‘free’ babysitters. That said, this millennials at home is different. Most on here are right about millennials. Yeah, its painting with a broad brush, but its mostly applies. However, the one thing missing is the parents. They are a huge reason for millennials living at home, after all, they created this monster so its only logical that they would continue to feed the beast.