There have been many things that could be seen as part of the reason for lack of broad housing recovery in the last few years, and perhaps one of the biggest is the fact that young people, by and large, haven't been able to buy. But there may be a good explanation for that in some recent data, and altogether it could portend future positives for the market and economy overall.

One of the reasons that many millennials haven't been able to get into the housing market the last few years is that they often have low-paying jobs, or difficulty finding employment, especially in comparison with previous generations, according to the latest data from the real estate sector tracking firm RealtyTrac. As such, it seems that many have also effectively locked themselves out of the market because, when pursuing employment from 2007 to 2013, they often moved to more expensive areas where jobs were more plentiful.

The areas where the population of millennials has grown in most heavily the past several years are mostly in and around major cities, the report said. These include Washington, D.C.; New Orleans; San Francisco; Denver; New York City; Nashville; and Portland, Oregon.

"The millennial generation is the key to a sustained real estate recovery and boomers who are downsizing are helping open the door for many first time homebuyers while also driving demand for purchases and rentals in the markets where they are moving," said Daren Blomquist, vice president of RealtyTrac. "Naturally, millennials are attracted to markets with good job prospects and low unemployment but that tend to have high rental rates and high home price appreciation, while boomers are moving to lower populated areas which have slower home price appreciation."

Boomers making way
Meanwhile, it's their parents' generations who are largely leaving these areas to clear some space for young people – both in the housing and job markets – as they go in search of warmer and more affordable housing elsewhere, the report said. Areas where boomer populations have expanded most include major warm-weather cities like Phoenix, Orlando, and New Orleans, but also smaller and more affordable areas, like Wilmington, North Carolina, and Fort Myers, Florida.

These changing demographics could have a major impact on the housing markets in many parts of the country, especially as affordability continues to decline in the coming months, and further impacts buyer and seller decision-making.