Young Americans are risking their most valuable asset with dangerous financial move
One in three young homeowners - those born between 1997 and 2012 - say they are skipping insurance claims out of fear their homes will not pass inspection, according to new data from insurance agency Guardian Service.
Instead two in three are opting to take on major home repairs themselves to save money.
'Many homeowners are living on borrowed time and borrowed trust, we're seeing financial strain and home safety come head-to-head,' home insurance expert Kara Credle from Guardian Service told DailyMail.com.
Credle says a dangerous 'knowledge gap' is fueling the trend.
Many homeowners don't realize that avoiding vital repair work such as roof work could make their home insurance premiums more expensive and even cancel their coverage, Credle warned.
'Homeownership is no longer the financial safe haven it used to be.'
Some 71 percent of homeowners are unaware that making home upgrades can lower insurance premiums, the data revealed.
Gen Z are taking on major home repairs themselves to save money
With many Gen Z homeowners one emergency away from financial disaster, these findings point to systemic risks for the housing and insurance markets.
Millions are living in under-maintained homes, quietly hiding what's behind the walls while hoping nothing goes wrong.
Gen Z currently make up just 3 percent of all homebuyers in the US, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
Gen Z are burdened by large student loans as well as sky high rents, leaving little income left over to save towards the costs of homeownership.
'Two-thirds of homeowners had their renovation budgets wiped out in 2025,' Credle added. 'This is a sign that we've moved beyond belt-tightening into financial survival.'
At the same time house prices have rocketed to new highs, rising roughly 50 percent since 2020.
Mortgage rates, which remain stubbornly high at around 7 percent, also make monthly payments too much for many younger workers.
The median home price in the US is also more than $403,000, making a 20 percent deposit a tough ask for many too.
71 percent of homeowners are unaware making home upgrades can lower premiums
'The cost of homes is substantially higher than it was for previous generations, and you may not see as many starter homes being built or becoming available,' Nikki Beauchamp, from Sotheby's Realty, told Fortune.
'Add to that the student loan debt, and in general, it has been my observation that as a result they have much higher debt than my generation [Gen X] did at that age.'
To add insult to injury, baby boomers are further pricing Gen Z out of home ownership by swooping in with all-cash offers and bigger down payments.
With decades of savings from low mortgage rates, boomers have overtaken Millennials, Gen X, and Gen Z in home purchases.
For young families who still want to make a go of home ownership, help from the bank of mom and dad is a popular solution.
For others the option is to move to a more affordable area, such as Wichita, Kansas, which was recently named the most affordable US city.
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