How Are Homeowners Faring?

Our annual State of the Industry report explores economic realities for homeowners and reveals growing interest—particularly by Millennials and Gen Zs—to invest in sustainability upgrades.

Green Builder Media has just launched our annual State of the Industry report, which tracks trade and consumer behavioral patterns, purchase drivers, and perceptions, along with key sustainability trends that are transforming the building industry. 

This year’s report confirms that homeowners are struggling with current economic conditions. Across the Baby Boomer, Gen X, Millennial, and Gen Z generations, homeowners are curbing spending on dining out, travel, entertainment and even household goods. 

Inflation and high interest rates have caused 45% of Millennials to cut monthly spending by 11-20%, and 61% of Gen Xers report that they’re having difficulty affording daily expenses. 

Interestingly, Gen Xers are more pessimistic about the economy than any other generation: 61% believe that the economy is getting worse. Gen Zs are the most optimistic, with 41% believing that the economy is getting better.

Also, Gen Zs and Millennials seem to be most inclined to sit on the sidelines and wait to see what interest rates and the economy do for a few months before buying a home. Boomers and Gen Xers largely report that they own homes that they are happy with or that they own a home and plan to remodel.

The State of the Industry report also found that younger the generation is, the more climate change is influencing their perspective about their homes:

• 61% of Gen Zs and 58% of Millennials report that they have considered moving due to climate change (compared to 46% of Xers and 34% of Boomers.)
• 62% of Gen Zs and 61% of Millennials indicate that they are concerned about the climate change impacting the value of their homes (compared to 53% of Xers and 42% of Boomers.)
• 77% of Gen Zs and 66% of Millennials report that climate events have impacted their ability to get insurance for their homes—a dramatic difference from Gen Xers and Boomers, who were at 22% and 16% respectively.

Furthermore, Millennials and Gen Zs are more inclined to invest in energy efficiency, electrification, healthy home, resiliency, water conservation, smart home, and solar + storage upgrades than Boomers and Gen Xers—and more than what builders think they will invest.

For a more robust outlook on the State of the Industry, including builder trends and market dynamics that are transforming the building sector, check out the Nov/Dec issue of Green Builder magazine and view the webinar that I recently presented on the topic.