20代のZ世代が逆境を乗り越えて住宅購入を実現
住宅価格が高騰する厳しい市場環境の中、20代のZ世代によるホームオーナーは増加傾向にある。
実際に家を購入した事例からは、若者がキャリアチェンジや徹底した貯蓄計画を実行し、経済的独立を達成している様子が伺える。
専門家によると、Z世代の購入者は金融リテラシーが高く、政府の頭金補助金などを効果的に利用している点が特徴だ。
また、彼らは学生ローンへの抵触が少なく、単身女性の購入者が多いといった世代特有の傾向も示されている。
アメリカの住宅市場において、若年層の住宅購入は難題とされています。しかし、20代のZ世代（Gen Z）がこの困難を乗り越え、マイホームを手に入れるケースが増加していることが明らかになりました。特に、平均初購入年齢が40歳に近づく中、彼らの具体的な成功事例と、その背景にある経済的・行動的な特徴が注目されています。
Z世代が挑む住宅市場の逆風
現在のアメリカの住宅市場は、深刻な住宅不足と高騰により、賃貸・購入双方にとって非常に厳しい状況です。住宅価格の上昇は賃金の上昇を大きく上回っており、特に低価格なエントリーホームは多くの市場で姿を消しています。
その中で、Z世代の住宅購入率は上昇傾向にあり、前年の3%から4%に増加したというデータがあります。彼らの平均世帯収入は76,000ドルと報告されており、経済的な知恵をもってこの難局に挑んでいると見られています。
成功事例に見る若者の戦略
ミシガン州ミルウォーキーに住む27歳のフランシスコ・バスケスさんの事例は、その具体的な戦略を示しています。彼は、一度は環境科学を専攻して動物保護の仕事に就きましたが、給与の低さに疑問を抱き、生活費と貯蓄を両立できる仕事を探しました。
彼はファストフード店で働き、収入の約70%をインデックス株に集中的に投資するなど、極端な倹約と積極的な貯蓄を実践しました。その結果、わずか2年強で72,000ドルの貯蓄を築き上げました。
世代を超えた購買行動の変化
Z世代の購買行動には、ミレニアル世代との違いが見られます。住宅購入を検討する際、彼らは親の援助を頼りにする可能性が低く、単独で購入するケースが多い傾向にあります。
また、彼らはソーシャルメディアを活用した金融計画を積極的に取り入れていると、不動産協会（NAR）の専門家は指摘しています。さらに、Z世代の購入者には3分の1以上が単身女性であり、多様な層が市場に参入していることも特徴的です。
まとめ
Z世代の住宅購入成功は、単なる個人の努力だけでなく、政府の補助金制度の活用や、現代的な金融知識の習得といった社会的な要素が絡み合っていると考えられます。彼らの行動は、今後の住宅市場における若年層の役割を再定義する可能性を秘めています。
原文の冒頭を表示（英語・3段落のみ）
In Milwaukee, Francisco Vazquez, 27, recently achieved what feels out of reach for so many in America today, especially young people: He bought a cute yellow three-bedroom home with a basement, garage and yard.Like many a proud owner, he spent hours this spring fixing it up before moving in, starting with tearing out the carpet."I sanded down all the hardwood floors, stained them again. I was adding polyurethane today. It's looking really nice," he said.Vazquez is part of a small but growing share of Gen Zers managing to buy a home despite historically unaffordable prices, and when the average age of first-time buyers has climbed to 40. They are outpacing millennials, many of whom also struggled to buy at the same age. They're less likely to use help from parents and far more likely to be single buyers, especially women."Gen Zers seem to have learned from millennials," said Jessica Lautz, deputy chief economist at the National Association of Realtors, which tracks buying trends. She also credits their use of social media for financial planning. "They're embracing the knowledge that is at hand."A job in fast food and an aggressive savings planVazquez changed careers to make homeownership happen. He'd majored in conservation science, on a scholarship with no student loans, then moved to Texas to work in that field. First he helped rescue alligators and place them in a sanctuary, then got a job at a zoo.He loves animals and said the jobs were "super fun." But the pay was so low he started questioning the value of his college degree."I wasn't going to be able to support a wife, let alone kids, or buy a home," he said.Making it financially is important to Vazquez. Growing up, his parents didn't have much and relied on government assistance. So he moved back home to Wisconsin thinking he'd become an electrician, but stumbled on a job posting to help manage a fast food restaurant. It turned out to have great pay and benefits. He got the job and he's been promoted twice.For two years, one living with his parents and one renting on his own, he saved aggressively."Most of my paycheck, probably like 70%, [went] into just a broad index stock," he said.The biggest challenge to his spartan spending plan was when he started dating the woman he would later marry, who felt they should spend a bit more to have fun while they're young. "She's definitely helped me balance in that regard," he said. Still, Vazquez was able to build up a whopping $72,000 in savings in just over two years. Milwaukee is also among a number of smaller, affordable cities where Gen Z is more likely to buy. At $220,000, his home was nearly half the national median price.
Related Story: NPRBy putting down a large down payment, Vazquez – not yet 30 – has a 15-year fixed rate mortgage, and an ambitious plan for the future."My biggest goal at the moment is just to retire early," he said. "So buying a home helps me buy myself more freedom in general."More than a third of Gen Z buyers are single womenThe rise in the youngest homeowners is noteworthy because of the odds stacked against them.A massive housing shortage has pushed prices to record high unaffordability for both renters and owners. Rising home costs have far outpaced paychecks. Lower cost starter homes have disappeared in many markets, while most new construction is geared to the higher end.
Related Story: NPRPeople in their 20s remain a sliver of buyers overall, but they're growing. The National Association of Realtors found last year 4% of homebuyers were Gen Z, up from 3% the year before. It counts buyers 18-26, although other definitions of the generation include those a couple years older.Overall, Gen Z homebuyers had an average household income of $76,000 dollars, according to the Realtors association. And they are financially savvy."They're taking advantage of government [down-payment assistance] programs at higher rates than all other generations," said NAR economist Lautz. "They seem to be a little more reticent when it comes to student loan debt, which has historically been one of the biggest hurdles for millennials to enter into homeownership."While 16% of Gen Z buyers did get a gift or loan from parents, that's lower than for young millennials, and less than the traditional average of 25% of all ages who use the bank of mom and dad. Instead, Gen Zers are more likely to tap a 401K, which is possible because they're saving for retirement earlier than the previous generation.Another difference: The share of single Gen Z buyers is double that of millennials at the same age."I asked around the office to try and understand what's happening here and I was reminded, COVID," Lautz said. "So I think perhaps delays in getting marriage started, and partners started, could be one of the things going on here for these young adults."
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