• There's a new career trend on the rise among millennials: mini-retirement.
• A mini-retirement can provide a much-needed break from the 9-to-5 and help reorient your career.
• Three mini-retirees shared their experiences with putting a pause on their careers.

Florence Poirel spent over a decade climbing the corporate ladder at Google, working her way up to the position of senior program manager.

"I was promoted every two years," Poirel said.

Despite her corporate achievements, however, the 37-year-old Poirel didn't feel satisfied.

"I was seeing signs of work-related stress and just questioning what I was doing with my job and my life in general," she told Business Insider.

So instead of continuing to climb, Poirel decided to take a year-and-a-half mini-retirement last year.

Poirel's non-traditional career path is one that some millennials are opting to take. The goal for some is no longer to front-load their work in life and only relax in old age. Nor is it to speedrun their careers to achieve retirement as early as possible, as do participants in the FIRE movement — short for "financial independence, retire early." Poirel and other like-minded people are pressing "pause" on their careers with the goal of returning to work with a better sense of purpose and enjoyment.

Not your conventional retirement

What exactly is a mini-retirement? Jillian Johnsrud, a career coach who specializes in helping people achieve financial freedom, defines it as "any time someone takes a month or longer away from the 9-to-5 to focus on something that's important to them."

The definition of a mini-retirement is flexible and depends on individual preferences. But at the end of the day, it's meant to be a temporary departure from the path of working a 9-to-5 nonstop until official retirement.

Johnsrud is 41 and has taken 12 mini-retirements in her life so far. Most recently, she took a monthlong break last year to learn how to tango dance.

Since leaving Google, Poirel has prioritized resting, reconnecting with friends, and spending time with family. She's also still involved with professional pursuits in mini-retirement. With more free time, Poirel is providing career coaching services and helping a friend's startup.

Brian Li spent almost two decades building a successful career at various startups before mini-retiring at 42. Li is planning to return to work next month after a yearlong career break, but that doesn't mean he spent his time idling. He went into his mini-retirement with a plan to read books and take courses but soon decided to actively pursue more unconventional opportunities on top of that — such as working on an election campaign, learning cooking skills in Japan, and working on independent consulting projects.

The mini-retirement gave Li the flexibility to explore creative skills and learn in ways he couldn't at a traditional job.

"I made a concerted effort to go meet people and say, 'Hey, here are the things I want to learn, here's where I want to develop myself. Do you need help?'" Li said. "I was an apprentice, and so there were no boundaries for me to show up at work and say, 'I got to do the things that I'm getting paid to do.'"

An opportunity to reorient your career

People seek out mini-retirement for many reasons. Millennials are entering their second or third decade in the workforce. No longer new to the job market, perhaps they're evaluating what direction to take their career next. Or maybe they're trying to balance their career with young children. These big life changes make a mini-retirement especially appealing to Johnsrud's clients.

It doesn't have to be as serious as burnout, although Johnsrud certainly sees many cases of that. A mini-retirement can help people redefine their professional lives and shape their work into something more fulfilling.

At Google, Poirel was experiencing decreased motivation and energy and an increase in work-related stress. Poirel sees her mini-retirement as a way to steer her career away from corporate goalposts.

"Obviously there are ups and downs to that," Poirel said of workplace stress. But after finding herself experiencing heightened levels of dissatisfaction for many months, Poirel took it as a sign to take a break.

When her mini-retirement ends in September, Poirel plans to look for a job at a company focused on sustainability, a topic that aligns with her own values.

"I am not interested at all in climbing the ladder anymore. Higher job titles mean more responsibilities, more stress, more working hours, and that's really not something I want to do," she said.

For Li, his career priorities have changed over time. While Li has gotten a lot experience working in the startup space, but he's looking to expand his skill set for the next chapter of his career and work in a different environment.

"The boxes that I'm checking now are fundamentally different than the boxes that I was checking before my career break," Li said.

Some things can't wait until 65

Mini-retirees don't agree with the idea of waiting until your sixties to enjoy life.

This was especially true for Poirel, whose partner is 17 years older than her. "When I'm 60, he's going to be 77. That doesn't sound fun for me," she said.

Poirel also spent a month with her family earlier in her mini-retirement — something she hasn't done since she was a student.

Having young children can also be a catalyst for a mini-retirement. It definitely was for Johnsrud, who once took a 10-week mini-retirement to go on a road trip with her children.

"I was like, if we didn't do this now, I can't do this trip in 20 years," Johnsrud said. "There's no way 20 and 30-year-olds are going take 10 weeks out of their life to do 10 national parks in a pop-up camper with me."

For Li, a mini-retirement offered him time to focus on his newborn daughter and prioritize his family in a way that he couldn't have working a rigorous job at a startup.

"There are certain seasons in our life that if we don't do the thing now, it'll pass us by. It won't hold on the shelf until we're 65," Johnsrud said.

Do you have a mini-retirement story you want to share? You can reach Christine at [email protected]

• Single people have more difficulty affording a house than married people.
• That's because couples often have a larger financial cushion with joint incomes.
• Here are the top real-estate markets for single men and women.

The benefits of marriage aren't just limited to tax advantages. It's easier for married people to buy a house, too. According to Redfin, nearly 70% of single people struggle to afford rent or mortgage payments. For married couples, that number is significantly lower, at 52%.

Just because you're single doesn't mean you're alone in experiencing this struggle. A growing number of Americans are in the same boat. Rising housing costs have resulted in rent or mortgage payments eating away at Americans' budgets. For married people, having two incomes gives them a leg up in the housing market, but single people have to shoulder the burden of rising living costs by themselves.

However, there's no need for single people to panic — some states are easier than others for solo buyers to get their foot in the door.

Online loan marketplace LendingTree analyzed US Census Bureau data and found the states with the highest levels of homeownership for single men and women. Single women, in particular, might have an advantage in the housing market, as LendingTree found that they owned 11.1 million homes nationwide, compared to 8.4 million for single men. That means in the US, single women and men own 13% and 9.8% of owner-occupied homes, respectively.

Regardless of gender, the top housing markets for single men and women are typically in states with low population density and economies driven by a combination of energy, manufacturing, and various natural resources. New Mexico is the top state for single women homeownership. For men, it's North Dakota.

Tanner Schock, a real-estate agent from Minot, North Dakota, believes that a combination of cheap housing costs and job opportunities make the state particularly attractive to homebuyers.

North Dakota's cost of living is almost 9% lower than the national average, according to the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center.

"Out west, we have oil fields, and a lot of people actually come from out of state to North Dakota to work in the oil and gas industry," Schock told BI. "In the Minot area, we have an Air Force base as well."

These industries tend to have a higher proportion of men relative to women, which could explain why male homeownership is high in the state, Schock said.

Nationwide, one explanation for the higher number of single women homeowners could be due to women's earnings catching up to men's, according to LendingTree. Another factor could be that since women typically live longer than men, there could be a higher proportion of women who became single homeowners after their spouse died, LendingTree said.

Listed below are the top three housing markets for single women and men homeownership and the median home price for each, according to Redfin. For context, the median home price across the US is $427,670.

New Mexico

% of households owned and occupied by single women: 15.3%

Median home price: $392,990

Mississippi

% of households owned and occupied by single women: 15.1%

Median home price: $292,000

West Virginia

% of households owned and occupied by single women: 14.7%

Median home price: $269,999

North Dakota

% of households owned and occupied by single men: 13.5%

Median home price: $347,350

South Dakota

% of households owned and occupied by single men: 13.1%

Median home price: $360,000

Alaska

% of households owned and occupied by single men: 12.8%

Median home price: $431,000

• Property taxes are an important consideration when buying a house.
• Taxes tend to be highest in Northeast and Midwest cities.
• These are the 10 cities that paid the highest taxes relative to home value in 2023.

When it comes to purchasing a house, homebuyers need to consider the down payment, mortgage, insurance — and who could forget — property taxes.

Although sometimes dubbed a "hidden cost" of buying a home, property taxes can hit your wallet hard. Local governments levy property taxes to fund public services such as schools, infrastructure, fire and police protection, and other local services. And depending on where you live, they could make a serious difference in home affordability.

SmartAsset ranked 342 of the largest cities in the US to find where homeowners are paying the highest property taxes relative to home value, using data from the US Census Bureau's 2023 American Community Survey.

Cities in the Northeast and Midwest tended to have the highest effective property tax rates, and several cities from Illinois and New York made the list. According to SmartAsset, Illinois has the second-highest property taxes in the US, with a statewide average effective tax rate of 2.1%. That's more than twice the national average rate of 0.9%.

Many cities in upstate New York also made the top 10 list. Since property taxes are set by the local municipality, there's high variability within the state. While New York City is infamous for its sky-high cost of living, property taxes in the city are actually in line with the national average of 0.9%. SmartAsset found that Monroe County, located in upstate New York, has one of the highest effective property tax rates in the state, at 2.9%.

One Texas city also made the list. While Texas is known for having no income tax, that doesn't mean taxes are lower across the board, as Texas cities tend to rely heavily on property taxes as a revenue source.

Property taxes have been increasing across the board nationally. According to Redfin, monthly property tax bills have increased in 48 out of the 50 most populated metro areas since 2019.

As home prices go up, so do property taxes, said real estate data provider CoreLogic. That's because local tax assessors periodically reevaluate property values, rendering tax bills higher if home values have gone up. For those who live in states or tax jurisdictions with annual property reassessments, property taxes have likely soared alongside appreciating home values in recent years.

Between 2019 and 2023, US median property taxes increased 23.6%, from $2,287 to $2,826. That's a 5.9% average annual increase.

Listed below in descending order are the 10 cities with the highest property taxes, as well as the median real-estate taxes paid and the median home value for each, according to the SmartAsset analysis.

Peoria, IL

Percent of home value paid for annual real estate taxes: 2.6%

Median real estate taxes paid: $4,455

Median home value: $168,900

Rockford, IL

Percent of home value paid for annual real estate taxes: 2.5%

Median real estate taxes paid: $3,452

Median home value: $140,300

Waterbury, CT

Percent of home value paid for annual real estate taxes: 2.4%

Median real estate taxes paid: $5,607

Median home value: $234,400

Syracuse, NY

Percent of home value paid for annual real estate taxes: 2.4%

Median real estate taxes paid: $3,254

Median home value: $137,800

Albany, NY

Percent of home value paid for annual real estate taxes: 2.3%

Median real estate taxes paid: $5,561

Median home value: $237,700

Paterson, NJ

Percent of home value paid for annual real estate taxes: 2.3%

Median real estate taxes paid: $10,000

Median home value: $432,000

Elgin, IL

Percent of home value paid for annual real estate taxes: 2.2%

Median real estate taxes paid: $6,394

Median home value: $287,300

Aurora, IL

Percent of home value paid for annual real estate taxes: 2.2%

Median real estate taxes paid: $6,310

Median home value: $285,300

Rochester, NY

Percent of home value paid for annual real estate taxes: 2.2%

Median real estate taxes paid: $3,001

Median home value: $136,900

Pearland, TX

Percent of home value paid for annual real estate taxes: 2.2%

Median real estate taxes paid: $7,847

Median home value: $364,000

• Housing inventory could improve as boomers age and pass on their homes, Zillow says.
• Rust Belt markets are poised to benefit the most from this trend.
• Here are the top 5 markets that are ripe for a so-called silver tsunami.

In what's been dubbed a silver tsunami, there's an $84 trillion generational wealth transfer that's slated to happen in the next two decades as boomers age and pass on their assets.

That could seriously shake up a housing market where home ownership is heavily skewed toward older Americans. Boomers, who comprise 20% of the overall US population, owned 36% of all homes in 2024, according to Freddie Mac. They're also sitting on over $17 trillion, or roughly half, of the total home equity in the US.

The silver tsunami might not be a silver bullet for the housing crisis at a national level, according to Orphe Divougny, a senior economist at Zillow.

But certain markets throughout the country have a particularly high concentration of empty-nest homes, which are expected to come on to the market as their boomer owners either downsize or pass away, according to Zillow. If you're looking to buy a home but have been discouraged by the lack of supply on the market, these areas could provide an easier entry point.

Boomer-heavy metro areas don't have much overlap with the expensive markets popular with Gen Z and millennials such as San Jose, Austin, and Denver, according to Zillow. That means inventory in those hot spots won't see much of a boost from empty-nester houses coming onto the market. Rather, many of the markets that have a high concentration of empty-nest households are located in the Rust Belt.

But Gen Z and millennials are proving that they're increasingly willing to relocate out of expensive metro areas and seek affordability, thanks to the flexibility of remote and hybrid work. In fact, there's been a recent trend of younger Americans moving out of cities and into suburban or exurban communities. Some are going even further into rural areas.

For homeowners willing to look outside the popular housing markets, there are deals to be found where the boomers are located.

"When these homes hit the market as owners downsize or otherwise move on, that extra supply should benefit buyers," Divougny said.

Listed below are the top five housing markets that'll benefit from the silver tsunami and the percentage of empty-nest households in each, according to Zillow. For context, the average empty-nester share of households in 2022 nationwide was 16%.

5 housing markets ripe for a silver tsunami

Pittsburgh, PA

% of empty-nest households: 22%

Buffalo, NY

% of empty-nest households: 20%

Cleveland, OH

% of empty-nest households: 19%

Detroit, MI

% of empty-nest households: 19%

New Orleans, LA

% of empty-nest households: 18%

• Millennials and Gen Z are packing up and leaving cities with high housing costs.
• They're moving to suburban and exurban communities while balancing hybrid work schedules.
• Here are 8 hot housing markets located outside major metropolitan areas, according to Zillow.

Young Americans sick of the high housing costs in major cities but unwilling to commit to going country are exploring a third option: moving to the burbs.

This development is a marked departure from the "back to the city" movement pioneered by millennials in the 2000s and 2010s. However, considering the historical context, moving out of crowded urban areas isn't unprecedented.

Suburbs are as American as apple pie. Armed with postwar GI Bills providing housing assistance and bank accounts bolstered by economic expansion, Americans poured out of cities and into mass-produced suburban Levittowns in the 1950s and 60s. Thus, the American dream of a home with a white picket fence was born.

According to Orphe Divounguy, senior economist at Zillow, young Americans are taking it one step further and moving to the exurbs — communities located past denser suburban areas but still within commuting distance to the metropolitan center.

"These communities strike a balance between suburban amenities while being located less than 90 miles outside of the offerings and thriving job markets of large urban centers like New York City or Boston," Divounguy told Business Insider in an email.

Post-pandemic, millennials, and increasingly, Gen-Z, have been giving up city life for the suburbs and exurbs, partly because they're getting priced out but also because they've developed changing lifestyle habits regarding flexible working arrangements.

"The increase in hybrid work models is likely contributing, leading more people to discover hidden gem cities that they may have previously overlooked when daily commutes were standard," Treh Manhertz, senior economic research scientist at Zillow, wrote in a recent report.

According to the moving company Hire a Helper, cities like New York, San Jose, and Los Angeles were top of the list for cities millennials moved out of in 2023. And between 2021 and 2022, millennials and Gen Z comprised almost two-thirds of the total number of departees from New York, an analysis conducted by Business Insider found.

That's not to say city living is out. Young people are still moving into expensive markets, according to Divounguy, but there's an undeniable proportion of the younger population leaving the cities.

This trend was reflected in 2024 Zillow user preferences. The real estate company analyzed metrics such as page-view traffic, home value growth, and days on market to gauge which housing markets with the highest level of consumer demand. Out of the top 10 most popular housing markets on the site, seven were suburban or exurban locations, which are listed below.

7 exurban communities homebuyers are eyeing

Manchester, New Hampshire

Approximate distance to nearest metro area: 50 miles away from Boston

Stamford, Connecticut

Approximate distance to nearest metro area: 35 miles away from New York City

Columbia, Maryland

Approximate distance to nearest metro area: 20 miles away from Baltimore

Bridgeport, Connecticut

Approximate distance to nearest metro area: 60 miles away from New York City

Allentown, Pennsylvania

Approximate distance to nearest metro area: 60 miles away from Philadelphia

New Haven, Connecticut

Approximate distance to nearest metro area: 80 miles away from New York City

Waterbury, Connecticut

Approximate distance to nearest metro area: 80 miles away from New York City

• It's never been tougher for first-time homebuyers to break into the market.
• Supply shortages, high mortgage rates, and skyrocketing prices are creating barriers to entry.
• Prospective homebuyers are downsizing, house hacking, or buying fixer-uppers as a result.

It might seem cliché to reminisce about the good old days, but when it comes to the housing market, things arguably were better "back then."

In the 1940s, for example, there was an ample supply of reasonably priced starter homes for first-time homebuyers. A starter home during that time typically cost between $8,000 and $12,000, or between $109,000 to $168,000 in today's dollars, according to Realtor.com.

Fast forward to today, where affordable new home construction has declined, mortgage rates are stubbornly above 6%, and the average home costs $357,469, according to Zillow data. It's no wonder that the share of first-time homebuyers in the market has shrunk to a historic low of 24%, while the age of first-time buyers has hit a record high of 38 years, according to the National Association of Realtors.

"There are a lot of financial barriers to entry for younger households," Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com, said in an interview. "As a result, we see fewer first-time home buyers. They are a smaller share of the market, and the number of home sales has been historically low in recent years."

Despite the tough times, there are some positive inklings for the housing market heading into next year: lower interest rates and increased inventory could be on the horizon in 2025. Still, housing experts are unsure if the market will significantly improve for first-time buyers in the near future.

In the meantime, first-time homebuyers seem to be making the most out of the circumstances and are getting creative with the following three homebuying habits.

Starting small

One of the most straightforward ways that homebuyers are reducing costs is by buying a smaller house. That's how Symone', a 32-year-old user-experience content designer who asked not to share her last name for privacy reasons, was able to purchase her first home in 2024: a two-bedroom, 1,300-square-foot single-family home in the Raleigh, North Carolina metro area.

Buying a house in one of the most popular real estate markets in the country wasn't a walk in the park for Symone'. Competition was fierce and inventory was limited, making it difficult to find affordable units, Symone' told BI.

"I would go to sleep basically on my phone, scrolling on Zillow trying to find something," she said.

Her biggest takeaway from the homebuying process was that she wouldn't get everything on her wish list. Symone' prioritized the urban location and made concessions on the size — her house is much smaller than the median American home size of 2,000 plus square feet, according to Bankrate.

"That's where I compromised on this house. I love it because it's a new build, and it has all the finishes that I wanted, but I definitely don't have as much storage in this house," Symone' said.

House hacking

When Tom Brickman bought his first house, he lived in the upstairs unit and rented out the downstairs unit to a tenant.

That was back in 2009, but house hacking, or renting out part of your home, has only increased in popularity as a way for first-time homeowners to get their foot in the door. The extra income from rent can help the owner pay off the mortgage on the house and build up home equity.

"I think it's definitely gained more popularity as things continue to get more and more expensive," Brickman said.

Danny Gardner, senior vice president of Mission and Community Engagement at Freddie Mac, agrees. Gardner believes that increasing living costs are leading people to become more open to nontraditional home ownership options such as sharing space.

In the twenty-plus years since Brickman's first home purchase, he's gone on to buy more houses and become a successful real-estate investor who provides coaching services to new homeowners. House hacking with two tenants was how one of Brickman's clients was able to afford a condo while working as a server in Los Angeles.

House hacking can provide a point of entry into the market, especially for otherwise prohibitively expensive markets such as Los Angeles, but Brickman cautions that it's not for everyone. Cohabiting with a tenant can create complications: when Brickman first started out, he encountered lifestyle conflicts with his downstairs neighbor and had to scramble for money to fix a broken furnace.

"It's inconvenient," Brickman said of house hacking, "but I could afford a much nicer house by doing that."

Buying a fixer-upper

Another way first-time homebuyers are combatting the rising cost of housing is by buying fixer-uppers. These houses are often available at below-market prices and can be a great deal — if you're willing to put in the work and money to invest in renovating.

According to Hale, fewer affordable starter homes are being built as builders have trended towards constructing larger, more expensive homes in recent years.

As a result, those looking to buy an accessible first-time home might not have a lot of new options to choose from.

"A lot of lower-priced homes are lower priced because they're older and could require work," Hale said.

Prospective homeowners might choose a fixer-upper due to lower competition. Brickman went this route a few years ago.

"I was just tired of getting outbid, so I took a house that needed more work than what it was needed," Brickman said of his experience buying a fixer-upper in 2022.

However, the lower price of a fixer-upper can come at the cost of the convenience of a new build, as it's difficult to accurately predict costs no matter how diligently you budget. Another one of Brickman's clients was hit with thousands of dollars of unexpected costs on a fixer-upper after an initial inspection failed to catch an issue with a retaining wall on the property.

The housing landscape is undoubtedly tough to navigate today, but until affordability improves, prospective homeowners are coming up with workarounds to get a piece of the American dream.

"Sometimes you have to get a little creative to get your foot in the door," Brickman said.

• Navigating a career can be challenging, especially at the start.
• BI asked senior Wall Street leaders for their best pieces of advice for climbing the ranks.
• Interviewees hold top positions at Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, BlackRock, and more.

What does it take to get to the top? Well, who better to ask than those who are already there?

Navigating a career can be challenging, especially in a rapidly changing economy. But those in senior leadership roles on Wall Street have cracked that code, climbing the ranks through their decades of experience.

Because these top Wall Street money managers, economists, and strategists are among those best-positioned to offer career advice, BI asked them in recent interviews for the top pieces of wisdom they would pass along to those just starting out.

David Kostin, chief US equity strategist at Goldman Sachs

Takeaway: Prioritize going to the office

"Show up in the office," Kostin said. "I can't imagine how a young person is going to actually absorb all the dimensionality of what's happening in the client relationships and with their work and colleagues and not be in the office."

Kostin's advice is simple, but it comes at a time when a massive debate is raging about various companies' RTO policies. In Kostin's view, working in person is critical to developing your career early on.

Mike Wilson, CIO and chief US equity strategist at Morgan Stanley

Takeaway: Bet on yourself, and be OK with being wrong

"You've got to be willing to go take a stand on stuff, whether it's in a meeting, with people you report to, pointing out things that you don't agree with, kind of making a firm stance," Wilson said.

Wilson says this boils down to being open to taking on "personal risk," or the chance that the argument you're making could be wrong — or right.

"On Wall Street, personal risk often means taking contrarian views because that's where the real money is made and accepting the idea that you're going to be wrong along the way. I think ultimately how you deal with those consequences will determine whether you're successful or not," he added.

Rick Rieder, CIO of global fixed income at BlackRock

Takeaway: Understand how technology is trending

As the biggest firms in the world pour money into AI development, Rieder said that those who are early in their careers should think about how the economy might look in the years ahead as robotics and AI increasingly augment our lives.

"I think the world's changing faster than anybody really recognizes," Rieder, who oversees $3 trillion, said.

"For young people today, understand where that's going to happen and how you take advantage of that — I think it's a really, really big deal," he continued. "I think we've left status quo, and we're moving to a whole new era."

Anna Wong, chief US economist at Bloomberg Economics

Takeaway: Be curious despite consensus, and come to a conclusion only after stress-testing it

"Constantly being curious, even if there might not be an obvious payoff to it," Wong, who previously worked at the Federal Reserve, said for her first piece of advice. "If investing is about finding what the market has not priced in, then what people have not priced in usually are in the details. For me, I have learned to be attuned to that little voice inside my head that sounds a tiny alarm in cases where I am about to make some broad assumptions."

Second, when it comes to forecasting, Wong said to consider if a conclusion is still valid after considering multiple arguments and points of view.

"The way I decide on whether to make an out-of-consensus call is to see whether it's possible to arrive at a forecast in many different ways," she said. "Most times I take as the forecast the middle of those ways — and that could at times be totally out of consensus, and at times be smack in the middle of consensus."

One of Wong's current out-of-consensus calls is that there's a 60% chance the US economy is headed toward or already in a recession.

Michael Feroli, chief US economist at JPMorgan

Takeaway: Treat every job as a learning opportunity, even if it's not what you see yourself doing long-term

Landing your dream job at the very start of your professional life is a rare occurrence. More often than not, you may find yourself at a job that isn't a great fit or isn't aligned with your long-term goals.

However, there's a lot to be learned while figuring out your career. "Do your hardest at the job you're currently at, even if it's not the job you love," Feroli said. "Whatever you're doing now will help you get to where you want to be."

Rob Arnott, founder of Research Affiliates

Takeaway: Enjoy what you do, and challenge widely accepted beliefs

"First piece of advice: Do what you love," Arnott said. "Because if you don't do what you love, you probably won't be very good at it. And if you do what you love, you're going to have fun even if you're not wildly successful."

He continued: "Second: Never accept conventional wisdom as true. Always be curious. I've made a career out of listening to conventional wisdom and thinking, 'Gosh, has anyone tested that?' And I go and test it, and half the time it turns out to be true — and fine — and half the time it turns out to be a myth."

Invesco, PIMCO, and Charles Schwab all use Arnott's alternative indexes as the bases of various mutual funds and ETFs they offer. Arnott recently told BI that market consensus around AI could be too bullish, and large-cap growth stocks may be in for a rough patch.

Wei Li, global chief investment strategist at BlackRock

Takeaway: Take time to explore interests outside of work

It may seem counterintuitive, but the key to Li's career success has been making time for new experiences outside work.

"Don't only spend time on the things immediately useful to you in your seat right now," Li said. "The world is so unpredictable. Other things you could absorb may end up being helpful to you in ways that you don't even know."

Hobbies that she's picked up over the years, such as learning about cryptocurrency or studying Italian, have opened doors in her life that she could not have foreseen.

Li believes having diverse experiences is especially important in a post-AI world: "These days, I really force myself to experience things that have nothing to do with my job because it trains my brain in ways that my job doesn't. Who knows, it could become useful in the future and in an environment where we just don't know where the future is," she said.

• The infamous "lock-in" effect that's restricting home supply may be going away next year.
• Realtor.com's chief economist expects more homeowners to list their homes for sale in 2025.
• High levels of home equity and life changes will encourage home sales, Danielle Hale said.

2024 has been a tough year for homebuyers.

Affordability levels are still low with elevated home prices and mortgage rates. A huge jump in mortgage rates to around 6.8% today from under 3% in 2022 has also created a "lock-in" effect, where existing homeowners don't want to sell into a higher mortgage rate environment than when many of them bought — further limiting home inventory coming onto the market and sending prices soaring even higher.

There's reason to be optimistic, though. The US housing market will see more favorable buying conditions in 2025, according to Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com. Hale sees two trends that will help encourage existing homeowners to put their homes up for sale.

Existing homeowners have built up home equity

Existing homeowners have reaped big home equity gains in recent years thanks to rapidly rising home values.

Homeowners are also increasing their home equity by making monthly mortgage payments, as those who bought houses a few years ago have had the opportunity to make a sizable dent in their mortgage, Hale said. Homeowners with a smaller mortgage balance may be less sensitive to the higher interest-rate environment of today's housing market.

According to Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors, homeowners are feeling richer now thanks to the home equity they've accumulated over the last few years of dizzying home price increases. As a result, more listings are being put on the market.

Homeowners can put their home equity to work when they move and buy a new house.

"If they're using their home equity to make a move, that enables them to either be a cash buyer or take out a very small mortgage," Hale said. "That gives them a bit more flexibility in today's market."

Mortgage rates may become less important to buyers and sellers

Homebuying decisions can also be influenced by factors other than mortgage rates or home prices, according to Hale.

The more time that passes since a homeowner's initial purchase, the more likely it is that they'll have a life change requiring them to move, regardless of the cost of moving, Hale said.

People buy houses for reasons other than financial ones, Hale pointed out. Big life changes that could spur a move include a new job, retirement, marriage, or having children.

"All of these can be reasons that people might make a move even if the costs are more expensive to buy a home," Hale said.

Additionally, consumers might be getting accustomed to high mortgage rates, according to Redfin.

"Buyers realized mortgage rates may not drop below 5%, and probably not below 6%, in the near future," Mimi Trieu, a Redfin real-estate agent, said. Existing homeowners holding off on moving due to high mortgage rates may soon give up on waiting it out.

A more "buyer-friendly" housing market

These changes won't be immediate, but they will have a noticeable impact on the housing market, according to Hale. She believes that the housing market is trending in a more "buyer-friendly direction."

"It's going to take more time," Hale said of the lock-in effect. "But as it diminishes, that's going to free up more sellers."

Lower interest rates — and subsequently, lower mortgage rates — would certainly speed up the erosion of the lock-in effect, Hale said. However, even if mortgage rates hover around the 6% range in 2025, which is what Realtor.com expects, the lock-in effect will still fade.

Homebuyers could see a notable change by the end of next year, Hale predicted.

"In mid-2024, 84% of homeowners with a mortgage had a mortgage rate under 6%. We think that by the end of 2025, that share will be 75%," Hale said.

• The red-hot US housing market could cool off slightly in 2025, making it easier to buy a home.
• Expect stable or declining mortgage rates and more housing inventory, according to Redfin.
• However, it's still prohibitively difficult for younger homebuyers to break into the market.

The American dream of home ownership has become increasingly harder to achieve in the last few years. Home prices are elevated, mortgage rates are high, and housing supply is constrained. That's not to mention the growing threat of climate change, which is driving up housing costs such as insurance, HOA fees, and property taxes in high-risk states.

There's both some good and bad news on the horizon for homebuyers, according to housing market experts.

The good news? On the whole, it'll be easier to buy a house in 2025. But the bad news, for younger homebuyers at least, is that's mostly just the case for boomers. Homeownership is actually looking as distant as ever for first-time buyers, especially Gen Z and millennials.

3 reasons it'll be easier to buy a house in 2025

First, housing prices are projected to increase slower than in previous years. Redfin economists Daryl Fairweather and Chen Zhao predict that median US home-sale prices will rise by 4% in 2025. Goldman Sachs has a similar outlook for 2025, predicting that US home prices will increase by 4.4%. That's roughly in line with median wage growth. Considering that US home prices shot up over 40% between March 2020 and January 2024, this sanguine prediction is good news for prospective homebuyers.

Another impediment to homeownership has been high mortgage rates, which have more than doubled in the last few years. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate has risen from below 3% in 2021 to around 7%.

While a 7% rate is still high historically, it's a sign of improvement from this housing cycle's high of 7.8% in October 2023. And rates could come down further in 2025, according to housing market experts. Redfin expects mortgage rates to stay the same or decrease next year. Realtor.com forecasts mortgage rates to end 2025 at 6.2%.

Lastly, experts predict that new housing inventory will hit the market, bringing relief on the supply side. A Republican sweep in Congress is a positive sign for homebuilders, as the construction industry will benefit from fewer regulations, according to Redfin.

In October before the election, Jeffery Roach, chief economist of LPL Financial, said that an increase in housing starts, or construction of new residential housing units, was a signal for more single-family homes hitting the market over the course of the next few quarters. According to Realtor.com, housing starts for new single-family homes could hit 1.1 million in 2025, a 13.8% increase.

All of these factors could improve the housing market going into 2025. Redfin predicts that home sales will increase anywhere between 2% and 9% next year.

No houses for young homebuyers

But unfortunately, if you're a first-time homebuyer, you're probably out of luck. Redfin doesn't expect the increase in home sales to be driven by young or working-class buyers. It's looking likely that any new housing inventory that hits the market will go toward older Americans first.

"Instead, affordable homes will be snapped up by older buyers who are priced out of higher price tiers," Fairweather and Zhao wrote in a recent report.

Indeed, first-time homebuyers are having unprecedented difficulty in the housing market. It's typically more difficult for first-time buyers to purchase a home because they don't have funds from selling a previous home to use for a down payment and mortgage payments, Redfin said in a June report, but today's housing environment is especially hostile towards young buyers.

Wages simply haven't kept up with the pace of home price increases over the past five years. According to Elijah de la Campa, a Redfin senior economist, the cost of starter homes have increased twice as fast as incomes during that time. Additionally, for Gen Z and millennials, student loans and credit card debt are emerging as roadblocks to homeownership, as it's difficult to qualify for mortgages with a poor credit score and high levels of debt.

As a result, the median age of first-time homebuyers is now 38, according to the National Association of Realtors — an all-time high. That's up from 35 in 2023. First-time homebuyers are also an increasingly smaller proportion of the market, at just 24% in the 12-month period ending in June 2024. The year prior, that proportion was 32%.

Comparatively, boomers have an advantage in the housing market. According to Edward Yardeni, president of financial research firm Yardeni Research, boomers own roughly half of the nation's net worth and homeowner equity, giving them a leg up in the housing market. Now, as boomers age and look to downsize their homes or move elsewhere for retirement, they can take advantage of the home equity they've amassed from years of home ownership.

"Gen Zers, meanwhile, will keep living with family or renting until well into their 30s," wrote Fairweather and Zhao.

• Natalie Fischer quit her corporate job to become a solopreneur creating financial content.
• She's generated over $150,000 from her business in 2024.
• Fischer shares 4 tips for transforming a side hustle into a career.

Being an investing influencer started as a hobby for Natalie Fischer during the pandemic. Now, it's her full-time job.

Like many people, Fischer started seriously getting into the stock market in 2020. The pandemic was a prime entry point: markets were volatile, rates were low, and she had built up a healthy level of savings.

She began sharing her investing journey on social media through Instagram stories and received an outpouring of feedback and questions from family and friends. Fischer couldn't keep up with the barrage of DMs and started a TikTok account, @investwithnat, to create videos answering common investing questions.

In 2023, Fischer took a leap of faith and quit her corporate job to focus full time on finance content creation as a solopreneur, or a one-person business. Now, Fischer creates videos about financial independence on social media platforms and partners with different brands to create user-generated content.

She's been quite successful: so far in 2024, Fischer's brought in over $150,000 in revenue, contracts viewed by Business Insider show. And that's in an increasingly cutthroat creator economy — according to Goldman Sachs, only around 4% of content creators globally generate over $100,000 a year.

If you want to transform your content creation side hustle into an actual career, Fischer has the following advice.

Take the transition slowly

Fischer's success didn't emerge overnight. She started creating TikToks in 2020 but didn't actually start money until a year and a half later, primarily through producing user-generated content for companies. From there, Fischer began getting more sponsorships. She did this while working her full-time job as a data analyst.

"The best way to transition is to actually just start that project on the side while you're working a full-time job and basically wait to see how it goes," Fischer told Business Insider in an interview.

It's helpful to collect data on how your content is performing and monitor progress. Fischer waited until she had a year and a half of revenue data from her side hustle before deciding to take the leap.

"If I just quit my job not knowing how much money I was going to make, that would just be so stressful," Fischer said.

Once Fischer realized the paychecks from her side hustle were at the same level as the paychecks from her corporate job, she felt confident enough to go all in.

Prepare your emergency fund(s)

It's standard budgeting practice to have an emergency fund that can cover three to six months of living expenses. As a solopreneur, Fischer made sure she had not one, but two, emergency funds: one for personal use and one for her business, with enough money to cover six months of expenses for each.

Having a backup plan gave Fischer more bandwidth to focus on growing her business. A business emergency fund also ensured that Fischer would be able to sustain her business even if it encountered financial challenges as she transitioned to becoming a full-time content creator.

If being a solopreneur didn't work out, Fischer's backup plan was to go back to the corporate world, and the emergency fund would help Fischer weather the financial transition.

"That gave me a lot of comfort knowing that if worse comes to worse, I can always get another job," Fischer said.

Monthly income fluctuates, so diversify your income streams

Part of the reason why Fischer wanted to prepare emergency funds was because, unlike receiving a steady biweekly check in the corporate world, her monthly income as a solopreneur fluctuates.

The unpredictability of her income can make financial planning more challenging. Fischer makes sure she has a variety of income streams so she's not overly reliant on a single source of revenue.

Fischer built her baseline income around user-generated content by signing contracts to create content for companies' social media pages, websites, or advertisements. These contracts are month-to-month and easy to project. On the other hand, the frequency of sponsorships are more variable and therefore harder to forecast.

Fischer is also looking to upskill and expand into interactive events. She recently completed her certification in financial education and hosted a money workshop at a conference. Thinking ahead about new business lines, Fischer has her eyes on being a speaker at universities and schools.

You can do both

Being a solopreneur and working a corporate role aren't diametrically opposed.

A year after quitting her 9-to-5, Fischer is now considering getting a part-time corporate role in addition to running her own business.

"I'd be interested in a part-time project management or marketing role to diversify and expand my potential," Fischer said.

Not only does a part-time role provide more predictable income streams, it also provides exposure to new work environments and skills. Fischer has found that as a full-time content creator, she has a lot more flexibility with her time than she did at a traditional office job. Fischer has seen fellow solopreneurs balance a content creation business, a corporate role, and even write a book at the same time.

Fischer's takeaway from the last year of running her own business is to not limit your options as a solopreneur — there are countless ways to build your brand and business.

"I found that I have a lot more time on my hands, and so I'm able to explore different avenues," Fischer said. "I can do it all."

Are you a successful solopreneur looking to share your story? Reach out to Christine Ji at [email protected]