Americans prefer single-family homes

For young adults, homeownership has been falling for the last few decades. Do Americans simply prefer to live in apartments now? It doesn’t look like it. A 2024 IFS survey found that while 24% of adults under the age of 55 live in an apartment, only 8% consider an apartment ideal. The vast majority, 79%, prefer a detached single-family home. Yet just 59% live in one. This disparity is due, in large part, to a growing home affordability crisis. With home ownership being a major priority for aspiring parents, a pro-family policy agenda must include easier access to single-family homes.

by Grant Bailey