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Billionaire hedge fund manager David Einhorn believes he knows why younger Americans are struggling to buy homes: They have lost their patience.
“I sense the younger generation is just more impatient,” the Greenlight Capital cofounder said during an episode of Morgan Stanley’s Break the Playbook (1) series.
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“They’d rather, you know, speculate in crypto or speculate in stocks or speculate on sporting events and try to build wealth by guessing those things correctly,” he continued. “And some of them will have some success with that, and others will have less success.”
Einhorn argued that buying a house and paying off a mortgage over 30 years requires long-term discipline that “might be in short supply.”
Even though some evidence might support his claim, with mortgage rates approaching 7%, home prices sitting near record highs and younger buyers entering a vastly different market than their parents did, impatience hardly tells the whole story.
Einhorn has a point about chasing quick returns
Some young investors really are diverting money from long-term goals toward riskier bets.
A 2026 Betterment survey (2) found that 52% of Gen Z investors had redirected money intended for investments into sports betting during the previous year. More than a quarter (26%) described sports betting as part of an ongoing financial strategy, as reported by Fortune (3).
That can have painful consequences.
Unlike a diversified investment that can appreciate or produce income, a wager ends when the game does — and the house is designed to win over the long run.
Saving a down payment also requires consistency. Someone putting away several hundred dollars every month may need years to reach their target, especially once they include closing costs and an emergency fund.
A high-yield account like a Wealthfront Cash Account can be a great place to grow your uninvested cash, offering both competitive interest rates and easy access to your money when you need it.
A Wealthfront Cash Account currently offers a base rate APY of 3.55% through program banks. With a new client boost and direct deposit incentive, referred clients can earn up to a 4.55% APY.
That’s 10 times the national deposit savings rate, according to the FDIC’s August report.
With no minimum balances or account fees, as well as 24/7 withdrawals and free domestic wire transfers, your funds remain accessible at all times. Plus, you get access to up to $8M FDIC Insurance eligibility through program banks.
Simply keeping that money separate from everyday spending may help prospective buyers resist the temptation to gamble their down payment on the next hot stock, coin or parlay.
Today’s buyers face a much steeper climb
There are other obstacles to buying a home. For instance, the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage reached 6.95% on Sept. 17 (4), up from 6.76% one week earlier and 6.26% a year ago. It was the highest average recorded since January 2025.
Earlier generations also encountered high interest rates, but they generally borrowed against much lower home prices. Today’s buyers are squeezed by expensive financing and elevated prices simultaneously.
Younger Americans might already be feeling that squeeze. In 2025, about 38% of 28-year-old Gen Zers owned a home, compared with around 42% of Gen Xers and 44% of baby boomers at the same age, according to Redfin data (5).
Among 36-year-olds, 57% of millennials owned homes, trailing the 61% rate for Gen X and 63% for boomers at that age.
This gap simply cannot be explained entirely by an aversion to waiting. Many younger Americans appear to be doing the math (6) and concluding that renting is currently cheaper than owning in their market.
Consider a $500,000 home purchased with $100,000 down and a 30-year mortgage of $400,000 at the current 6.95% interest rate.
Of the roughly $2,648 first monthly payment, about $2,317 goes to interest. That leaves just $331 to pay the principal. Assuming property taxes and maintenance each cost 1% of the home’s value annually, that adds around $834 a month.
That’s before insurance and other expenses.
Meanwhile, if a comparable home rents for substantially less than the roughly $3,150 in monthly costs that don’t build equity, continuing to rent and investing the difference seems to be the better long-term wealth-building decision rather than a failure of patience.
Shopping around can make buying less painful
Buyers with the income, savings and intention to stay in one place for several years may still benefit from buying a home. A fixed-rate mortgage can create predictable principal and interest payments, while each payment gradually builds equity.
However, buyers don’t have to accept the first rate they’re offered.
Freddie Mac recommends obtaining quotes from three to five lenders to secure the best available mortgage rate. Even a small rate reduction can translate into significant savings over the life of a loan.
To make this process easier, places like the Mortgage Research Center (MRC) can help you quickly compare rates and estimated monthly payments from multiple vetted lenders.
Simply by entering basic details (your zip code, property type, price range and annual income), you can view mortgage offers tailored to your needs and shop with confidence.
That being said, buyers might want to compare annual percentage rates, closing costs and loan terms rather than focusing exclusively on the advertised interest rate.
Renting doesn’t have to mean falling behind
Einhorn is right that a mortgage can function as a forced savings vehicle, since every principal payment increases owner equity. Renters can recreate that by automatically investing part of the difference between their rent and the estimated cost of owning.
What’s more, it might be the better financial move.
For instance, Federal Reserve data shows the S&P Cotality Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index (7) rose approximately 85% from June 2016 to June 2026. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 price index (8) climbed roughly 257% over its latest 10-year period, excluding dividends.
In other words, the growth of the S&P 500 outpaced appreciation of house prices in the U.S. by a substantial margin over those years.
These numbers put into perspective the potential growth that can come from something as simple as investing in an ETF that tracks an index like the S&P 500.
The beauty of ETF investing is also its accessibility — anyone, regardless of wealth, can take advantage of it. Unlike buying a house, you don’t need a large lump sum to start investing. In fact, even small amounts can grow over time with tools like Acorns, an app that automatically invests your spare change.
Signing up for Acorns takes minutes: All you have to do is link your cards, and Acorns will round up each purchase to the nearest dollar and invest the difference (your spare change) in a diversified portfolio.
With Acorns, you can invest in a dividend ETF with as little as $5 — and, if you sign up today, Acorns will add a $20 bonus to help you begin your investment journey.
Investing in real estate another way
It’s also important to remember that you don’t have to buy real estate to invest in it. For those renters who are looking to invest but still want exposure to real estate, they can invest in shares of vacation homes or rental properties through Arrived.
Backed by world-class investors, including Jeff Bezos, Arrived allows you to invest in shares of vacation and rental properties, earning a passive income stream without the extra work that comes with being a landlord of your own rental property.
To get started, just browse through their selection of vetted properties, each picked for their potential appreciation and income generation. Once you choose a property, you can start investing with as little as $100.
For a limited time, when you open an account and add $1,000 or more, Arrived will credit your account with a 1% match.
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Article Sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our ethics and guidelines.
YouTube (1); Betterment (2); Fortune (3); Freddie Mac (4); Redfin (5), (6); Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (7), (8)
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: finance.yahoo.com
