> Most of the time, the prices have been going up.
That's not particularly interesting though. The rate at which prices go up is crucial, especially in comparison with wages. If the price of housing increases faster than wages, then home buyers will end up with less disposable and investable income than before.
We're not talking about why older people are wealthier than younger people. We're talking about why the gap has increased.
Well, any group that owns more of an asset class will experience more of whatever swing in value it experiences, right? Isn't it as simple as that? 80% of boomers have a house, and only 55% of millennials do. If all homes go up by 100%, the average boomer will have 80% more wealth, and the average millennial will only have 55% more wealth. The gap in their wealth will increase.
Some of them do. Wage earners are not necessarily cash flow positive nor putting money toward hard assets. Plenty of people out there are renting, spending, and not saving. IIRC there's also a good bit of evidence to show that later generations are not saving nearly as much as older generations.
The price of renting is not unrelated to the price of buying. If homes are too expensive or unavailable for purchase, then the rental market will experience high demand, because people have to live somewhere. Buyers and renters may be cash negative for the same reason.
That's not particularly interesting though. The rate at which prices go up is crucial, especially in comparison with wages. If the price of housing increases faster than wages, then home buyers will end up with less disposable and investable income than before.
We're not talking about why older people are wealthier than younger people. We're talking about why the gap has increased.