By Quentin Fottrell | realtor.com
The generation that likely had the most to lose during the crash in the housing market appears to have gained the most household wealth since 2007.
During the economic downturn a decade ago, Generation X homeowners — born between 1965 and 1980 — experienced the largest decline in home equity, according to a new report by the Pew Research Center, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. Home equity for that generation of homeowners fell 43% from $66,000 in 2007 to $37,600 in 2010. The median value of the financial assets owned by Generation X households fell 20% from 2007 to 2010.
Since 2010, the median net worth of Generation X households has risen 115% and, since 2016, the net worth of a typical Gen X household had surpassed what it was in 2007 ($84,200 versus $63,400). “As of 2016, the median wealth of households headed by Boomers and the Silent Generation remains below 2007 levels, though their household wealth still exceeds that of Generation X,” wrote Richard Fry, a senior researcher at Pew.
