Many say that the American Dream of owning a home is dead; for much of Generation Z and the millennial generation at least. Many of us feel that way because it has never been harder to own a home in America. But is the American dream actually dead? Sure interest rates are super low and a tight labor market has given a slight boost to wages, but then again home prices are at an all-time high, inflation is at a 40-year high, and the Fed is set to increase interest rates. With all of this in mind, what percent of Americans own homes, what about different generations? And more importantly, what has made it so increasingly hard to own a home? And perhaps most importantly; is the proverbial ‘white picket fence’ era of American history over? And if so, how do we make homeownership a reality again?

Homeownership has been a staple of the American dream, a store of generational wealth, of comfort, and often a source of retirement income for quite some time. Today almost 2/3rds- 65% of Americans own a home and this number has been steadily declining over the last 2 decades. A closer look at the numbers by age demographic reveals a stark difference in homeownership rates among the different generations.

Simply put, millennials are far less likely than their counterparts to own homes. One might argue this trend is likely explained simply by age- that millennials aren’t old enough, or haven't worked long enough to be able to afford a house. But this trend taken with many other troubling ones might reveal a bleak reality of the American Dream for many millennials and those younger.

Among those troubling trends is the increase in the share of homes bought by investors dating back to 2020. Even accounting for the precipitous drop during the pandemic, the overall trend doesn’t bode well.

It looks even worse when we dig into the ‘pandemic recession’. Given the increase in liquidity for hedge funds, private equity groups, and the like, compared to the spending and debt paying of households, we can see and explain why the housing market has become so grueling. This means even more of an advantage in buying homes. Also, investors are increasing their share of homes in mid-sized metropolitan cities- places with more Mid-Priced properties, that are on track to see population growth, and where largely young professionals want to move to start a family.

Other factors are making homeownership more difficult to obtain. Among them are general rises in home prices, increasing student debt as well as stagnant wages relative to inflation.

Other market forces have also made homeownership prospects weak; namely the proliferation of hedge funds, companies, and other large financial institutions buying houses has become another blow to the prospects of owning a home for younger people. By outbidding regular homebuyers, these large financial institutions, through their far greater access to capital are able to price everyday people out of the housing market. This trend was exacerbated through the period of pandemic recession and recovery. This has come despite an increasing supply of housing over the past 2 years.

This points to their outsized impact on increasing prices as a result of out-competing other buyers- which is fueled by speculation.

To make matters worse, as these large centralized institutions buy up homes to turn into rental properties, they drive up rental prices. This increase in rent prices is significant because it is a result of would-be homeowners being priced out, therefore, increasing the demand for rent. Moreover, given the market share of these large institutions, they have less competition and therefore more incentive (or rather lack disincentive) to charge higher rents. At the risk of sounding alarmist, rent outpacing income means less ability to save, and therefore ability to buy a house in the future. This is what the younger generations face in the current housing market.

The only hope it seems is becoming a 1 percenter, working long hours for decades, or hoping for a housing market crash; these are not tenable solutions. That is why now, more than ever, in a market that displays the pitfalls of over-centralization- especially for the majority of people, we must find a solution that decentralizes the process of owning a home and makes real the American aspiration of owning a home.

So is the American dream of homeownership dead? Short answer: yes. Long answer… also yes, but not if we are able to solve the fundamental problems of centralizing finance and relatedly real estate. The key to this is the spirit that fuels the American dream- the idea of empowering individuals, building social cohesion, being hardworking and diligent, and being open to change and innovation.

Nest DAO’s mission is to bring innovation and collaboration for web3 real estate. By leveraging the power of decentralization, innovation, and community we want to restore and expand the American dream of owning a house for our generation. Through NestDAO we want to make owning real estate more accessible; whether as a home, for investments, for creating generational wealth, or empowering a community of people.  Homeownership represents security and stability, it represents the future and being able to raise a family. This DAO will provide a sense of security for younger generations through real estate.

The platform we hope to create will be a community of learners and educators; passionate people who can optimize Web3 for real estate. By making knowledge open and accessible we can also help our generation own homes, generate passive income and ultimately build generational wealth. By relying on the power of community bonds and the potential of web3 to strengthen and utilize those bonds, and the innovative spirit of our generation we can wrest power from the institutions that have threatened the prospect of owning real estate.

Please join and support our community in the following ways!

Twitter - twitter.com/nestdao/

Instagram - instagram.com/nest_dao

Discord - discord.gg/2ejDpRQdcR

Many say that the American Dream of owning a home is dead; for much of Generation Z and the millennial generation at least. Many of us feel that way because it has never been harder to own a home in America. But is the American dream actually dead? Sure interest rates are super low and a tight labor market has given a slight boost to wages, but then again home prices are at an all-time high, inflation is at a 40-year high, and the Fed is set to increase interest rates. With all of this in mind, what percent of Americans own homes, what about different generations? And more importantly, what has made it so increasingly hard to own a home? And perhaps most importantly; is the proverbial ‘white picket fence’ era of American history over? And if so, how do we make homeownership a reality again?

Homeownership has been a staple of the American dream, a store of generational wealth, of comfort, and often a source of retirement income for quite some time. Today almost 2/3rds- 65% of Americans own a home and this number has been steadily declining over the last 2 decades. A closer look at the numbers by age demographic reveals a stark difference in homeownership rates among the different generations.

Simply put, millennials are far less likely than their counterparts to own homes. One might argue this trend is likely explained simply by age- that millennials aren’t old enough, or haven't worked long enough to be able to afford a house. But this trend taken with many other troubling ones might reveal a bleak reality of the American Dream for many millennials and those younger.

Among those troubling trends is the increase in the share of homes bought by investors dating back to 2020. Even accounting for the precipitous drop during the pandemic, the overall trend doesn’t bode well.

It looks even worse when we dig into the ‘pandemic recession’. Given the increase in liquidity for hedge funds, private equity groups, and the like, compared to the spending and debt paying of households, we can see and explain why the housing market has become so grueling. This means even more of an advantage in buying homes. Also, investors are increasing their share of homes in mid-sized metropolitan cities- places with more Mid-Priced properties, that are on track to see population growth, and where largely young professionals want to move to start a family.

Other factors are making homeownership more difficult to obtain. Among them are general rises in home prices, increasing student debt as well as stagnant wages relative to inflation.

Other market forces have also made homeownership prospects weak; namely the proliferation of hedge funds, companies, and other large financial institutions buying houses has become another blow to the prospects of owning a home for younger people. By outbidding regular homebuyers, these large financial institutions, through their far greater access to capital are able to price everyday people out of the housing market. This trend was exacerbated through the period of pandemic recession and recovery. This has come despite an increasing supply of housing over the past 2 years.

This points to their outsized impact on increasing prices as a result of out-competing other buyers- which is fueled by speculation.

To make matters worse, as these large centralized institutions buy up homes to turn into rental properties, they drive up rental prices. This increase in rent prices is significant because it is a result of would-be homeowners being priced out, therefore, increasing the demand for rent. Moreover, given the market share of these large institutions, they have less competition and therefore more incentive (or rather lack disincentive) to charge higher rents. At the risk of sounding alarmist, rent outpacing income means less ability to save, and therefore ability to buy a house in the future. This is what the younger generations face in the current housing market.

The only hope it seems is becoming a 1 percenter, working long hours for decades, or hoping for a housing market crash; these are not tenable solutions. That is why now, more than ever, in a market that displays the pitfalls of over-centralization- especially for the majority of people, we must find a solution that decentralizes the process of owning a home and makes real the American aspiration of owning a home.

So is the American dream of homeownership dead? Short answer: yes. Long answer… also yes, but not if we are able to solve the fundamental problems of centralizing finance and relatedly real estate. The key to this is the spirit that fuels the American dream- the idea of empowering individuals, building social cohesion, being hardworking and diligent, and being open to change and innovation.

Nest DAO’s mission is to bring innovation and collaboration for web3 real estate. By leveraging the power of decentralization, innovation, and community we want to restore and expand the American dream of owning a house for our generation. Through NestDAO we want to make owning real estate more accessible; whether as a home, for investments, for creating generational wealth, or empowering a community of people.  Homeownership represents security and stability, it represents the future and being able to raise a family. This DAO will provide a sense of security for younger generations through real estate.

The platform we hope to create will be a community of learners and educators; passionate people who can optimize Web3 for real estate. By making knowledge open and accessible we can also help our generation own homes, generate passive income and ultimately build generational wealth. By relying on the power of community bonds and the potential of web3 to strengthen and utilize those bonds, and the innovative spirit of our generation we can wrest power from the institutions that have threatened the prospect of owning real estate.

Please join and support our community in the following ways!

Twitter - twitter.com/nestdao/

Instagram - instagram.com/nest_dao

Discord - discord.gg/2ejDpRQdcR