Steep housing costs are putting homeownership dreams for many Gen Zers on hold, especially in pricey markets like Seattle, a new survey shows.

Why it matters: 63% of Gen Z and younger millennials want to become homeowners, but Gen Z faces a huge hurdle raising enough money for a down payment and closing costs, Re/Max found.

• One in three Gen Zers (34%) surveyed by Freddie Mac say owning a home feels impossible in their lifetime, up from 27% in 2019.

Zoom in: Young first time buyers looking for a three-bedroom, two-bedroom townhouse in Seattle can be very discouraged by the typical $850,000 price tag and $5,000 to $5,500 monthly mortgage, John Manning, managing broker for Re/Max Gateway in Seattle, told Axios.

• Even so, among new mortgages in the Seattle metro area in 2023, nearly 43% were taken out by Gen Zers and young millennials, according to a recent Redfin report.

Yes, but: Seattle's figures may be inflated by the significant number of tech workers with high salaries in the region, Manning said, and that doesn't mean young working and middle class people aren't still struggling to become homeowners.

State of play: Many younger adults are grappling with pricey rents and some are returning to their childhood bedrooms or basements while others are splitting the bill with roommates.

• Over half of U.S. adult men (57%) and women (55%) under 25 lived in their parents' home in 2022, an arrangement that's become more common in the past several decades, recent census data shows.

Reality check: Fewer than 1 in 5 adult Gen Zers (18%) nationwide either own a home or are married to someone who does, according to a recent analysis by John Burns Research & Consulting.

• Research shows the majority of young adults still hope and expect to own a home, but at this stage in their lives homeownership feels far out of reach, Chris Porter, the chief demographer for John Burns, told Axios.

What we're watching: Gen Zers who are not able to buy are increasingly looking for workarounds and ways to share space.

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A number of states are joining Washington in offering paid family leave.

Why it matters: Paid leave policies give new parents time to recover from birth and bond with their babies, while reducing financial stress on growing families.

Driving the news: Last fall, Washington was one of only eight states with paid family leave programs fully up and running, along with D.C., per the U.S. Department of Labor.

• Then Colorado started offering paid time off for new parents in January.
• And new laws in four other states — Delaware, Maine, Maryland and Minnesota — will start paying out parental leave benefits within the next two years, per the Labor Department.

Zoom out: The U.S. offers 12 weeks of job-protected, unpaid family leave for some employees, but doesn't have a paid federal parental leave policy.

• Only about 27% of Americans working in the private sector have access to paid family leave when they welcome a new child, according to the Labor Department's Women's Bureau.
• Meanwhile, a majority of countries guarantee paid maternity leave and paid paternity leave.

State of play: Washington state's paid leave program offers up to 12 weeks of paid family bonding time for eligible employees.

• Women who give birth can receive four to six weeks of additional leave.

Flashback: State lawmakers in Washington approved the policy in 2017, making it the fifth U.S. state to guarantee paid family leave benefits. Payments began in 2020.

How it works: You can check your eligibility and find necessary paperwork on the program website, then start your application using this state portal.

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📰 The Stranger, the Seattle-based alternative news outlet, has been sold to Brady Walkinshaw, a former Democratic state lawmaker. Walkinshaw, who represented central Seattle in the legislature, previously was CEO of the environmental news site Grist. (KUOW)

🪫 At least four counties in Washington — where power guzzling data warehouses in support of AI and the internet have sprouted — are grappling with soaring demands for electricity.

• Grant County could be forced to violate a state green energy law limiting fossil fuels or risk rolling blackouts within the next six years. (Seattle Times/ProPublica)

🇺🇸 Military personnel, including active duty, veterans and retirees, can ride Sound Transit Link light rail, Sounder commuter trains and express buses for free this week as Seattle Fleet Week returns. (FOX 13)

🧢 In an effort to boost their offense, the Mariners are trading minor league outfielder RJ Schreck to the Toronto Blue Jays for veteran infielder Justin Turner, a two-time All-Star who won a World Series with the Dodgers in 2020. (MyNorthwest)

• The team also traded former All-Star Ty France to the Cincinnati Reds. (KING 5)

We have a new Seattle location guessing game for you, with a clue in the form of a haiku.

An ode to outside —

While company commissioned —

Still brings vibrant joy

Reply to this email (or ping [email protected]) to guess where we were in the city!

Between the lines: We'd like to start a feature where we share insights from some of our knowledgeable readers who answer our quizzes correctly.

• Think: your favorite breakfast spots, favorite weekend place to go, or maybe something else you want your neighbors to know about.

If you're into that, answer our "where are we" quiz correctly and let us know you'd like to be featured as a reader of the week, or have a tip you'd like to share!

• We'll pick a reader to spotlight from among the correct respondents.
• (You can also just play the game and choose to not become famous. It's up to you.)