“If you’re a millennial, you’ve had 20 years to work. Why don’t you own a house yet?”

That’s the question older generations love to ask.
But it ignores everything that happened during those 20 years.
Millennials entered adulthood around the time of the 2008 financial crisis.
Then came stagnant wages, exploding home prices, student debt, rising rent, and a global pandemic.
So yes, millennials have had time.
But time alone doesn’t guarantee affordability.
A person can work hard for 20 years and still be priced out of an asset that appreciated far faster than their income.
The real question isn’t:
“Why didn’t you buy a house?”
It’s:
“Why did the cost of housing become so disconnected from what ordinary workers earn?”