Young Americans buying homes again

First-time buyers are making up about half of all new mortgages — excluding refinancing — in a sign that young people are getting a boost from the booming job market and cheap credit, reports Bloomberg. The data, which looked at Freddie Mac-backed mortgages, found that 46% of new mortgages are new buyers, a share not seen since 2012. “This is a millennial-driven rise,” Freddie Mac's Chief Economist Sam Khater told Bloomberg. “You’ve got a strong economy that’s helping, along with the appetite of the financial market to invest in mortgages.”