The long-term consequences of not buying a house

The longer a person puts off buying a home, the more they will pay for one and the more likely they are to have mortgage debt later in life.

Research from the Urban Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, shows people who bought their houses between the ages of 25 and 34 (the age millennials are now), had $135,000 more value built up in their homes when they turned 60 than people who bought their first homes after they were 45 years old.

The bottom line: “The delay [in buying a house] is not just going to affect [millennials’] current life satisfaction. It could have a longer term effect on their wealth as they age,” said Jung Hyun Choi, a research associate with the Urban Institute.