Sarah Beatty

Experts offer tips on how to raise your score most effectively.

NAR President Moe Veissi summed it all up when he said that home ownership is too important to the American economy and to the American identity for the federal government to consider doing anything that could harm it—especially at a time when the economy continues to struggle with a recovery. Six of the last eight recessions ended only after real estate recovered, so clearly now is not the time for lawmakers and policymakers to consider any rules or legislation that could destabilize the market.

The conventional wisdom today around the millennial generation, often defined as having been born between 1980 and 2000, seems to be that they aren’t as interested in owning a home as previous generations. Recent stories in the media go so far as to claim that the dynamic, diverse people in this group prefer the flexibility of renting to the stable, long-term arrangement provided by home ownership.

However, this is a misinterpretation of present-day trends, said Dr. Glenn Crellin, a professor at the Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies, University of Washington. He was part of a panel of experts at a session on real estate demographics Friday morning at the National Association of REALTORS®’ Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo in Washington, D.C.