The Prosperity Paradox

"You had it easier, Dad." Anyone sitting at the Sunday dinner table with adult children is familiar with this remark - and perhaps also the feeling of not quite knowing how to respond. After all, at first glance, the evidence suggests otherwise: air travel was a once-a-year event, not a routine weekend getaway; mortgage rates at times exceeded ten percent in the early 1990s.

But is this merely complaining from a position of privilege? This perceived reality warrants a closer look, for it masks a tangible shift: those seeking to buy a home today face a different kind of hurdle than the previous generation did.