The Federal Reserve is preparing its next move to fight inflation, but it could push young Americans even farther out of the wealth race.
America’s promise is that young families can own a piece of their own country. However, the sad reality is that the American Dream of buying a home and building family wealth on American soil is being put on hold for the next generation, once again.
Unlike in decades past when housing affordability was an issue, the problem was really cyclical, not structural. When older generations faced housing trouble, high rates or recessions made buying a home tough for a while, but the market eventually eased, allowing them to jump in and build equity. But for this generation of young Americans, the mid-2010s turned the housing crisis into a structural problem. They face a combination of issues: high prices, stagnant wages, astronomically high student loan debt, and tighter access to credit. And despite a slight recovery when rates dropped during the pandemic, the environment for buying a home has pretty much stayed the same, and in 2026 the median age of a first-time home buyer is 40, which is the highest on record since the National Association of Realtors (NAR) began tracking it in 1981.
A good benchmark for our future is whether our younger generations have the same or better access to wealth than previous generations. October’s housing numbers should be a big red flag for anyone worried about our nation’s health.