The housing market is very different for millennials today than it was for their parents and grandparents.

The costs of owning and maintaining a property are much higher now, as are student loan debts. These two factors are changing the way millennials treat housing, and many are living in different types of homes than their parents did.

Millennials, those currently aged 23-38, are learning from first-hand experience that housing costs are no laughing matter anymore. The reasons for this have been pondered for a long time, but rising housing costs alone didn’t land millennials in their current economic situation. One expense that has risen faster than any other is tuition, which has been skyrocketing. According to Business Insider, 70% of recent college graduates finished school with $29,800 in debt, on top of interest, which is almost always inevitable. With these facts taken into consideration, it’s easy to understand why millennials are buying different kinds of homes and living in different areas. On top of all this, millennials also wait a lot longer to buy a home.

Among the most significant changes in the housing market, there is the fact that millennials face housing prices that are 39% higher than their parents’ in the 1980s. This 39% increase in just three decades far outpaces wage increases during the same period of time. Rent prices are also up 50% from 50 years ago, and millennials are looking further from big city centers to afford housing. Many millennials are moving out of city centers and commuting over an hour in each direction. Millennials are also placing home ownership ahead of marriage, in contrast to their parents, who most often focused on marriage, and then bought a house with their spouse.