New Survey Finds That Millenials Are Psyched About The Old School American Dream

For as long as we can remember, owning a home was an element of the American dream.

But after the housing market crashed seven years ago, it seemed as though the idea of buying a home as a stable investment had died.

New data, however, suggests interest in buying homes is very much alive, surprisingly among young people.

According to a study by Zillow and Pulsenomics, a whopping 65% of millennials said "they agreed with the statement that owning a home is necessary to living the 'good life' and is central to the American dream." Only 56% of Gen X-ers and 55% of Baby Boomers felt the same way.

82% of millennial renters said that "they were confident or somewhat confident that they will be able to afford a home someday." And 46% of them agreed that owning a home is "necessary" to be a "respected member of society".

And on top of that, millennials are more optimistic about expected home values: 33% expect home values to rise more than 6 percent per year over the next decade." Only 21% of Gen X-ers and just 15% of Baby Boomers agreed.

"This feedback from millennial renters is significant because it confirms that they bear relatively few psychological scars from the housing bust, and because the attitudes of this generation will drive housing trends in the decades to come," noted Pulsenomics Founder Terry Loebs.

"It's heartening to see younger renters express so much confidence in their ability to buy a home in coming years, because today's renters by necessity are tomorrow's buyers," said Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Stan Humphries. "Cynics might argue that these results represent no more than youthful exuberance, or perhaps some naiveté, but that's missing the point."

"But optimism is a necessary first step, and indicates a desire among a very creative generation to find creative solutions that will enable them to achieve homeownership," he adds.

And here are the top 7 metro areas with the highest housing confidence index for renters only (those who presumably may purchase a home in the future), according to the Zillow study.

Atlanta: 64.0

Denver: 63.4

San Francisco: 61.8

Minneapolis: 61.6

Washington D.C.: 61.1

San Jose: 60.2

Miami: 59.8