Read the full article at USA TODAY.

Now, here’s another reason Millennials are itching to buy a house: They see photos of homes on Instagram and Facebook that their friends bought, and think: “What about me”?

This "FOMO"  — fear of missing out —  has become one of the forces spurring many Millennials to finally buy a home, according to a Bank of America survey of 2,000 adults early this year.

“I think it’s motivating them to think about home ownership,” says D. Steve Boland, head of consumer lending for Bank of America. “Their interest level is high, and it’s driven by what they see.”

While social media has some influence on first-time home buyers generally, it has a particular hold on Millennials, or those born between the early 1980s and early 2000s. Millennials make up 65% of all first-time buyers, according to a survey by the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

Ethan Kross, a professor of social psychology at the University of Michigan, says social media postings often can stir up strong emotions that affect behavior.

“If other people are doing better than we are, that can get us to feel bad,” he says. “It reminds us of what things could be like.” He adds that many people tend to present unrealistically optimal images of themselves online.

Millennials have been joining the home-buying bandwagon anyway.