Solo Millennials—Implications for the Apartment Market via Axiometrics

In Eric Klinenberg’s “Going Solo: The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of Living Alone,” there are some interesting statistics about Millennials, people in their 20s and 30s or born in the late 1980s to the early 2000s. Millennials are different from previous generations in that they tend to stay in school a little longer than their predecessors and they delay marriage and having children. This book is highly recommended reading for those in the apartment and student housing markets.

According to sociologist Michael Rosenfeld, they tend to establish their own households more quickly than their predecessors. Certainly, a fair number remain with their parents after college graduation but in 1950, only 1% of those aged 18-29 lived apart from their parents – these days, more than 40% do.

Notes Klinenberg: “In recent decades a growing number of twenty- and thirty-something’s have come to view living alone as a key part of the transition to adulthood. In large urban areas where it is most common, many young professionals see having one’s own home as a mark of distinction and view living with roommates or parents as undesirable at best (p. 30).” Klinenberg also notes that many Millennials are willing to pay a little extra to be on their own rather than live with a roommate.

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