David Einhorn says younger generations’ own habits are holding them back from breaking into the housing market or building wealth.
The billionaire founder of Greenlight Capital recently speculated about the reasons younger Americans are falling behind in homeownership. The main reason, in Einhorn’s view, is that many young people lack the patience and investment discipline needed to save up for a home, and are funneling their wealth into speculative assets or sports betting.
“I sense the younger generation is just more impatient. 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,” Einhorn said, speaking in a recent episode of Morgan Stanley’s “Break the Playbook” series.
“And some of them will have some success with that, and others will have less success,” he added.
Einhorn said younger people are exhibiting a shift in “philosophy,” with many wondering why they should front the extra cash to build equity in a home when renting can be cheaper than owning a mortgage.
But owning a home still makes sense from a long-term financial perspective, he said, pointing to the potential for home equity appreciation and how a house often serves as a “savings vehicle.”
“Buying a house and paying off your mortgage over 30 years, you know, that requires long-term patience and discipline, and that might be in short supply,” Einhorn said.
Younger Americans are less likely to own a home, a trend that has emerged amid a broader slowdown in the housing market driven by high mortgage rates and near-record home prices.
The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 6.76% last week, up from
The job market, another factor that influences homeownership rates, has also been daunting for younger entry-level workers.
In 2025, 38% of Gen Zers aged 28 owned a home, compared with 42% of Gen Xers and 44% of boomers at that age, according to a Redfin analysis.
Meanwhile, 57% of millennials aged 36 owned a home last year, compared to 61% of Gen Xers and 63% of boomers at that age.
Younger Americans feeling locked out of the housing market is also a major force driving the boom in retail investing, a 2025 report from JPMorganChase Institute found. Last year, 37% of 25-year-olds added funds to a retail investment account, up sixfold from levels a decade ago, the bank said in a report.
Home prices have appreciated more slowly than red-hot stock prices in recent years, another factor that may be pushing younger Americans toward investing rather than saving for a home. The S&P Case-Shiller US National Home Price Index has appreciated by 85% over the last decade, compared to the 253% increase in the S&P 500 in that time.
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