America has an undeniable home ownership crisis.

Home ownership has become more and more unattainable in the past decade. From housing shortages, high mortgages, high interest rates, increased home prices, and more, the ability to own a home has objectively become more difficult for newer generations, especially Gen Z.

In fact, the average age of first home ownership is now approaching 40 years old!

As you can imagine, this is a huge problem. The ability to own property and increase one’s wealth through real estate is a key aspect of the American Dream.

Shannon McGahn, NAR (National Association of Realtors) executive vice president and chief advocacy officer, commented,

“For generations, access to homeownership has been the primary way Americans build wealth and the cornerstone of the American Dream…

Delayed or denied homeownership until age 40 instead of 30 can mean losing roughly $150,000 in equity on a typical starter home.”

While McGahn and others often point to the housing market and economic status itself as the driving force behind this problem, new research suggests that one’s marital status is the real driving force behind the home ownership crisis.

Brad Wilcox, an America sociologist, professor, and lead researcher on marriage and fatherhood recently co-authored a piece in The Wall Street Journal entitled, “First the Ring, Then the Roof.”

In this piece, Wilcox, along with co-author Maria Baer, draw the stunning conclusion that one’s marital status is the biggest indicator of whether or not you will own a home.

As an aside, this conclusion does not in any way negate the very real affordability issues that have sky-rocketed in recent years.

The Family Structure Index points out that in 1980, 67% of adults ages 25-54 were able to own a home. In 2026, that number dropped to 48%.

Nevertheless, while affordability is a key issue, it is not, as Wilcox points out, the driving issue.

“But this is more than a story about affordability. Marriage rates have shriveled. The shifts in homeownership and marriage are connected. Because while homeownership itself has trended downward, married Americans have been largely immune to the trend. In fact, there remains a consistent and monumental gap between married and unmarried Americans: 71% of married adults aged 25-54 own their own home today, compared with only 21% of their unmarried peers.

Marriage smooths the path to homeownership.”

Scott Winship notes that this is largely due to the mathematical reality of pooling income and expenses when you get married:

“Married couples are in a better position that single young adults to afford a home and always have been.”

This stunning research conclusion once again indicates the societal benefit that marriage brings.

Not only does marriage establish family stability, but it has the massive benefit of financial stability and therefore a better opportunity to build wealth.

Back in June of 2024, Wilcox revealed that the biggest marker of whether or not a man is wealthy has nothing to do with his economic status or his cultural background.

It has everything to do with whether or not he is married.

Why? Because married men have a family to protect, to work to provide for, to sustain. Because of the way that God designed men, marriage is the best environment for economic growth and stability.

“On finances, the data is strong and clear. Stably married men (men who have gotten married and stayed married) heading into retirement have about 10 times more household assets saved up over their lifetime than their divorced or never-married peers. After factoring in differences in education level, race, and employment, the average married premium in household assets for stably married men amounts to more than $290,000, compared to their unmarried fellow men…

Even controlling for household size, age, education, race, and ethnicity, married men have 40 percent more household income that their unmarried peers. Similarly, married men in their prime years are 55 percent less likely to be living in poverty.”

The overall conclusion is this:

Marriage is best.

It is the best for families, relationships, children, finances, economic growth, homeownership, stability, and every other metric available.