Millennials’ Homeownership Dreams Can Come True

For many millennials, the dream of homeownership feels far away, if not impossible. Salaries that haven’t grown with the cost of living, new mortgage rules, volatile housing markets, and a plethora of other reasons have made buying a home more difficult than it’s ever been for young people.

A survey by Apartment List of 24,000 American renters found that 80% of millennial renters want to become homeowners, but 72% are held back by affordability. Some 44% don’t have savings to put toward a down payment.

Many who find themselves in that position are trying to reach their homeownership goals with second and even third jobs in order to save extra money. Some are moving to smaller towns where housing is cheaper, while others are living with Mom and Dad in order to save on rent. But Fundrise, a Washington, D.C.-based start-up, has another, more creative solution.

Fundrise is a real estate crowdfunding start-up that sells shares in “eFunds” that build and/or remodel urban housing. An investor can be part of an eFund for $1,000, and the target audience is millennials.

Notes a recent Forbes article on the project: “(T)he goal is for a subset of the fund investors to become owners of the very places their money is helping build. Fundrise calls these ‘homebuyer investors’ or HBIs.”

So if a millennial could invest in a property today, he or she could be taking advantage of gains toward what might eventually become his or her home.

As well, says Forbes writer Samantha Sharf: “Fundrise’s effort is unique in tackling the dearth of affordable supply, which many economist [sic] agree is the biggest issue in the housing market today.”

The Fundrise project launched this past summer, so it’s too early to assess its success in encouraging new supply or in attracting millennials.

But this initiative may soon become one of many—millennials deserve their shot at homeownership too.