OPINION:
If desperate times call for desperate measures, it makes some sense that young Americans, who feel they are in a desperate economic situation, would resort to democratic socialism.
If you’re wondering why young people are disillusioned, consider that nearly 3 in 4 likely voters ages 18 to 39 think the cost of housing has reached a “crisis level.” Only about 2 in 10 think their economic future and personal happiness will be better than that of their parents.
Unfortunately, they are not wrong.
Since 1981, the National Association of Realtors has conducted an annual nationwide survey of homebuyers and sellers. Its most recent report, which covers purchases and sales from July 2024 to June 2025, found, “First-time home buyers in the last year shrank to a historic low of just 21% of all buyers.” Before 2008, the average share of first-time buyers typically hovered around 40%.
“At the same time … the age of first-time buyers has risen to the highest recorded. The median age of first-time buyers is now 40.” In the 1980s and early 1990s, the median age of first-time buyers was 28. Since 2020, this number has surged by seven years.
Over the past few years, and particularly since the onset of the pandemic, the median sales price of homes has absolutely skyrocketed. At the end of 2019, the median sales price was about $320,000. As of this writing, that has jumped to more than $420,000.
Young renters are also paying exorbitant prices. The Federal Reserve provides valuable information on the cost of rent, both nationwide and in specific regions. As the Fed notes, “Clearly, rents are increasing faster than prices overall.”
Are young people correct in thinking that the game is rigged against them? I believe they have a valid argument based on these metrics. However, they go wrong in their belief that democratic socialism can solve these problems.
In other words, young Americans are facing an affordability crisis, but they are misguided, at least if they think that democratic socialist policies are the answer. As history demonstrates, socialism takes hold when a significant portion of the populace loses faith in the economic system. In the United States, polls show that a substantial number of young people are at that point.
I understand why democratic socialism appeals to young people.
First, many young people have been inadequately educated about the history of socialism. They do not realize that the policies championed by democratic socialists have been tried and failed numerous times in various places under diverse circumstances. They do not know that every time socialism has been implemented, from the Soviet Union to Cuba to Venezuela, it has resulted in abject poverty, mass murder and political repression.
Second, socialist policies sound great on a superficial level. On its face, a rent freeze sounds good to people who don’t understand that price controls inevitably result in less supply and more rationing. More government housing seems like a solid idea until one realizes that government-run housing projects become cesspools of crime and violence, whereas more private homeownership is far superior.
Third, young people are cynical about free market capitalism because they often confuse it with crony capitalism. Young people have grown up in a housing market that is increasingly disconnected from anything resembling a free market, as it has been skewed by decades of government intervention. If the law of supply and demand applied to housing absent giant government interventions, I know young people would be in a much better position.
Given these headwinds, alternative solutions to popular democratic socialist policies must be presented straightforwardly. These solutions need to be simple and digestible. They also need to get to the root causes of the cost-of-living crisis.
Here are just a few ideas: To increase the supply of housing, which is the heart of the problem, restrictive zoning and environmental laws should be relaxed. Streamline the permitting process for building new homes. Reduce property tax rates. Address the fact that financial firms are gobbling up single-family homes so that they will be perpetually rented and never owned.
Finally, a bit of hope: Young voters are not die-hard democratic socialists. They are more pragmatic. More than 40% of young Democrats said they would vote for a Republican in the 2028 presidential race if he or she offered the best plan to make housing more affordable.
Before it’s too late, I hope those who cherish free markets, private property rights and individual liberty will address the cost-of-living crisis with viable policy solutions that make the American dream achievable for generations to come.
• Chris Talgo (ctalgo@heartland.org) is editorial director at The Heartland Institute.
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