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Millennials Love Zillow Because They’ll Never Own a Home

Real estate apps and Instagram accounts have become a digital fantasyland for broke millennials

Photo: Corcoran/Zillow

The apartment I found on Zillow has cornflower blue walls and original details, with crown molding still intact — a rarity among today’s bleached and flavorless condo renovations. It has picture windows and a functional fireplace, and it’s only a couple blocks from Prospect Park. It isn’t perfect; the kitchen is mismatched and hideous, and the second of the two bedrooms is minuscule, little more than a walk-in closet with a window. But it’s big enough for a small child, and the place is charming, well-cared-for, and modestly sized without being a grim shoebox.

It would be perfect for my husband and me and our dog and even a kid if we decided to have one. I can envision our bed frame and the little armchair in the bedroom next to the window and my favorite of the framed art we own in the dining area. I imagine how I would renovate the kitchen, replacing the metallic backsplash with sunny yellow tile, installing old-fashioned cabinets and a checkered floor.

But the apartment costs $850,000, not including homeowners association fees ($570), home insurance ($298), and property taxes ($460). The…