A growing number of Millennials feel more at home with cryptocurrency than with real estate.
According to a poll of 3,065 Millennials, by Get Living, a UK-based developer, 21 per cent of UK Millennials prefer cryptocurrency to real estate.
READ: Why More Millennials Live At Home — And It’s Not Because They’re Lazy
Of those polled, three-quarters found cryptocurrency to give better investment options than property investment. In fact, many Millennials find real estate to be too high-risk.
Despite its volatility, Bitcoin is seen as a better investment than real estate.
What's more, of Millennials who have purchased homes, many are telling their renting peers to stay out of the housing market.
The poll has discovered a lot of caution around property investment, along with optimism around incomes and an openness to flexible working. This seems a real departure from previous generations.
(Graphic courtesy of Get Living)
Neil Young, chief executive of Get Living, explained, “What we’ve found in this report is that ‘generation rent’ are cautious when it comes to property investment, are optimistic for the future and value the flexibility that renting offers. These shifts can’t be ignored.”
With previous generations, the investment strategy has typically been to secure a property. Home ownership has always been part of the path towards adulthood and establishing individuals and family.
Now, a new mentality is emerging within the Millennial generation.
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The study finds a decades-long mortgage is seen as more of a prison sentence than financial freedom with such high home prices in the UK. (Of course, the GTA is also one of the least affordable housing markets in the world.)
This "prison sentence" can be avoided, by investing in cryptocurrencies and not being tied down to a home, while also having the opportunity to work remotely and travel the world.
