This works because it combines two independent variables by multiplying them together, making the situation look even worse.

The marriage rate by age 30 dropped because:

1. Cultural changes
2. In 1950, almost 80-90% of adults in the U.S. were married; today it is under 50%. This has nothing to do with housing, But this becomes a multiplier that cuts the “homeownership AND MARRIED” chart line in half.
3. Cohabiting today is considered fine – and many young delay marriage or choose not to pursue it all.
4. Vastly more young people now attend college versus 1950s and 1960s. Then, young people sought jobs by age 18-21 and began working full time, earning income.
5. Rather than working, young people today go to college and accumulate debts and do not enter the workforce as a full time, career type job until age 25 or so.
6. The above changes have nothing to do with home prices.

Next:

The explosion of young people attending college pushes their future home buying out by 5-8 years, minimum. In the 50s and 60s, young people went to work and had been earning incomes for up to ten years by the time there 28-30. Today, young people have gone to college and accumulated debts – and are not in a position to buy a home until their late 20s at the soonest.

The result is the above chart is misleading – or in fact, it’s an outright lie created by combining two unrelated variables, each of whose trends have alternative and valid explainations.

College Education Trend

Changes in Home Sizes During This Period

During this period the average home size nearly tripled in size – think that has an effect on prices?

The effect is that the above claims about being married and owning a home are meaningless and created to foster doomerism.