Millennials Buy Homes For Their Dogs

Millennials are buying real estate, but not for reasons you'd expect. A third of them say they bought their house for their dog.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to brain stuff from how stuff works. Hey, brain stuff,
it's Christian Seger here. Millennials tend to get a bad
rap for being different from the generations that precede them,
and honestly, what generation didn't. And while there's little evidence
to back up the stereotypes about Americans roughly aged from
eighteen to thirty nine, one thing is certain. Millennials make

(00:25):
up the largest generation in US history, and despite their
historic low rate of home ownership, thirty one percent of
millennials owned homes in and this is according to Harvard's
Joint Center for Housing Studies Improving America's housing as of seen.

(00:46):
But why they're buying these homes might surprise you, and
it's it's not after they've gotten married or when they're
planning for the birth of a child. No, they bought
a home to have more space and a better yard
for their dogs. That's right. A survey released in late
July by Harris Pole and Son Trust Mortgage found that

(01:06):
as many as a third of millennials who purchased their
first home say they did it for their furry friends.
And get ready for this fun fact. Several studies have
shown that children who grow up in homes with dogs
are less likely to have allergies and be obese. Researchers
say the exposure the kids have with dogs gave them

(01:30):
higher levels of something called gut microbes that help prevent
allergies and obesity. So maybe we love our dogs because
they make us healthier. A late sixteen Mentel study found
that seven and ten millennial men and three and five
women now own dogs. In fact, seventy five of older

(01:52):
millennials those are ages thirty to thirty nine have dogs,
and they're willing to shell out cash for them, which
is good news for the pet industry. In alone, Americans
spent sixty six point seven five billion dollars on things
like pet food, leashes, collars, and vet care. And I

(02:14):
was right there with everybody else spending money on my dogs.
Millennials in particular, aren't afraid to spend cash on their pets.
Seventy six percent said they'd happily splurge on items like
expensive treats and custom beds and perhaps a new house.

(02:36):
Today's episode of brain Stuff was researched and written by
Sarah Glime and produced by Dylan Fagan. For more on
this and other topics, visit us at how stuff works
dot com.