A mid-30s from New Zealand here. Out of my friends and family living in the country that I still keep in touch with, I can only think of 2 households that don’t currently own their home.

One of them was pretty undecided for a long time about where he wants to live and what career to pursue, so didn’t really settle down anywhere. He’s in a serious relationship now though so that might change.

The other one is my brother-in-law and his partner. They’re planning on purchasing a house at some point but it’s not a priority for them - they’re actually renting out our first house from us so they don’t need to worry about getting kicked out without warning or dealing with unpleasant landlords or any of those usual things. When they leave, we plan on selling the house instead of renting it out again. We only kept it to make sure they had a safe space to be themselves.

Out of the homeowners, there’s a quite a mixture of people. Some have come from privilege and got handed money from their parents. Others grew up in a lower socio-economic group and earned all of the initial deposit themselves. One guy has a single dad that’s never owned his own home and has relied on disability income for most of his adult life. My friend had a lot of trouble finishing his university degree and finding work, it was years before he landed his current job at a small store. They’re living together in a house he owns himself now, I thought that was pretty sweet.

New Zealand has had a housing problem problem for a while now, so whenever I think of owning/renting in general it’s usually with negative feelings and frustration. Thanks for giving me this moment to reflect on a more personal level, I think my friends are doing great.

Most of my friends live in other countries than I do, and rent, however among people I know here in lithuania most either own a home or live at their parents’ house, excluding people living in the big cities who rent. I personally still live with my parents (who own their house) but my fiance and I have looked at potential houses we could get a few times :3

I don’t see myself ever owning a home. I’m in Los Angeles making ~$100k per year. I have friends who’ve tried to save and make down payments toward properties for sale but they always fell through.

Most do. My social circle and family are spread out over the EU.

I had a SIL and FIL who don’t own, and are generally bad with money. I fear we’re going to have to take them in when they reach retirement.

Half of the Belgians own their own house, 900000 have more than 1 house.

Poland. 30-something years old. I am the only one with a house, half of my friends have flats in the city and the other half rents or lives with parents.

Most of my friends own a house now, but almost everyone stil had a mortgage to pay.

Ownership feels good and you also need a place to live at… so… yes

Canada, and nil. Unless you count my older relatives (boomers), everyone I know that’s my age rents (from boomers).

Canada, Vancouver (HAHA I LOVE THIS CITY HAHA).

Philly-area millennial.

Among friends and family around my age, I have probably around a dozen or so people or couples who own their homes, one of whom inherited it, and one who bought it from family for cheap

And many more than that who rent, live with their parents (who often but not always own their home) and a couple whose housing situations aren’t quite what you’d call secure but aren’t quite homeless either.

As for myself, I’m kind of caught in paperwork limbo living in a house that’s owned by my mother in law, that she’s agreed to sell to us and we’ve been given carte Blanche to do whatever we want with it, are responsible for repairs and maintenance, but actually getting shit together for a mortgage is being way more of a pain in the ass than it should for reasons I don’t really want to go into.

In my parent’s social circles, the vast majority own homes or have in some way secured some kind of long-term housing for themselves, like one who basically gets their apartment rent free by being some kind of property manager.

USA (NYC) and Canada (Ontario). I don’t know a single person who owns their home.

I’m genX and have owned a home almost continuously since I was 23 or 24. In most cases I don’t know whether friends own or rent their homes but afaik they almost all own. My sister doesn’t, but she is disabled.

My oldest (~30) kids both own homes. One with her husband and she was a restaurant general manager when she bought and switched to bank manager to have a kid for better hours and benefits. My son is just a single guy who has been a nurse for a handful of years, and he just bought about a year or so ago.

This is in Midwest USA. When I lived near D.C. I think renting was more common.

Germany, pretty common among gen x generation and older (my family isn’t really that wealthy, either; the gen x people all got their home through inheritance), probably about 1 in 10 among younger generations. I doubt that I’ll inherit much, either my parents or grandparents are probably going to sell their houses and spend it all on geriartric care.

I’m a gen Xer in the US. I and most of my peer group have our own places. The ones with good careers and stable relationships generally have houses in more desirable areas, but even folks with more blue collar or less fancy jobs have a place further out in the suburbs or have a small condo. The only younger people I know who own are either in a situation where they both make serious money (like doctors or do well tech), come from money or occasionally just make it happen with just serious hustle and grit (and even then, I’m amazed they can do it).

Some are renting, some are under heavy debt for a run-down old house they are stressing out over as they are legally obliged to fix it up to certain standards within a set period of time (usually 5 years).