The top reasons given by respondents were a desire to save money (51%) and inability to afford rent (39%).

Yeah 100% support this. The amount of money you can save for a down payment or just your general future is huge if you're not spending it on rent _just_ to be away from your parents.

the national median monthly rent, which according to Rent.com in October was $1,980.

Yeah, take that 2k and times it by 12 and then 11 years (18 to 29) and you get 264k. That's a ton of money to spend on a house/downpayment/retirement by the time you're 30. This would also be post-tax money so it wouldn't've gotten smaller.

The overall national median probably isn't the right number in this case.

Like a couple with good jobs isn't making their housing choice the same way that a single young person with a not as good job.

And then there's the variability in housing markets across regions. Of course the better jobs available in high price areas are intertwined with the choices people are making about where to live, but the prices in New York aren't really a factor for someone that is interested in staying in the metro Detroit area.

This is the absolute bleakest angle to look at this from and honestly its pretty offensive.

Yeah you save money living with your parents, this has always been true.... but there is a reason most people move out and its because family living situation can utterly grind people to pieces. What does saving money matter if your quality of life is so low that you don't want to exist?

All those people arent living with their parents because suddenly way more people have healthy family situations to be around, ESPECIALLY given how many peoples lives are imploding every day in the US because of emergencies obliterating what little resources they were able to cling onto.

Seriously, I have zero time for the "glad millenials are smarting up and saving money by living with their parents" bs, nobody likes pissing away most of their paycheck every month to some landlord who wont even repair anything properly in the rental. This always has and always will be true, its just whether people become so desperate they cant make this choice anymore and they have to risk the consequences of moving home.

So this article focuses on how millenials are stress spending on luxuries to try to make their day to day life getting yelled at by their parents worth living and how that is good for the luxury market? What?

honestly its pretty offensive

As a counterpoint, it's offensive to treat living with family as an act of desperation. In fact, living with family is extremely common around the world, and moving out at 18 seems to be something of an anomaly mainly common to the U.S. and Northern Europe.

While economic factors and housing costs likely play a major role, it's also important to note that U.S. demographics have shifted in the last several decause, and people with Northern European ancestry make up a significantly smaller share of the U.S. population. It's hard to imagine this isn't also a factor.

Painted differently, "nearly half of Americans age 18 to 29 have parent(s) who allow them to live [at home]"

Which is nice. Family is important—though on the other hand, dodgy apartments and "starter houses" exist for a reason. Young adults need (and should be looking for) character-building independence and freedom. Including and not limited to paying rent on time.

In these cases, "tough love" would be move-out by $date, for your own good.

“Young adults need (and should be looking for) character-building independence and freedom. Including and not limited to paying rent on time.”

What a scrooge-like take. Acting as though flinging one’s self into the american capitalist trap is somehow a virtue building endeavor.

It would be interesting what your thoughts are on dumping your parents in a similar “dodgy nursing home” once they aren’t mentally or financially capable anymore. It’s “character-building”, right?

Most other cultures in the world see it as the norm to have multi generational homes. Grandparents can help raise young ones and maintain ethical values (which in the US we basically have lost all sense of).

But sure - making property owners wealthy by picking one’s self up by their bootstraps is probably the moral high ground here.

There are two kinds of living with parents. One kind involves paying no rent and doing no share of the responsibilities. But plenty of people cook, clean, and contribute to the household that achieves all of the same “character building” you’d get by living alone.