As the share of millennial homeowners continues to rise [1], with 37% of all home sales nationwide being made by 25- to 40-year-olds, a new realtor.com survey examines millennial buyers' main motivating factors.
A survey by Realtor.com found the desire to achieve the American Dream to be the No. 1 reason why millennials, 59% of respondents want to buy a home.
That's followed by, "I want to live in a space that I can invest in improving" ranked second at 33%, followed by the "need for more space" at 31%, and "I want to build equity" at 22%.
"Americans, even millennials who many thought would never buy, have a strong preference for homeownership for the same reasons many generations before them have—to invest in a place of their own and in their communities and to build a solid financial foundation for themselves and their families," said Realtor.com Senior Economist George Ratiu. "However, today's first-time homebuyers face unprecedented challenges brought on by a lack of available homes for sale and double-digit price growth. They are resilient though, with many in the market searching for their home for more than a year."
Here are some further findings and specifics from the study, which can be read in full on Realtor.com [2].
- Not having enough money for a down payment is holding 44% of first-timers back.
- Nearly two-thirds of millennials and 45% of Gen Z say a desire to be a homeowner is the main reason they are buying a home.
- One-third of first-time homebuyers haven't been able to find a home within their budget.
- Location tops the list of what prospective homeowners are looking for.
- With a majority of respondents having been in the market since last spring, they are fully aware of the competition they are facing. Fifty-three percent expect a lot or some competition with one in five first-time homebuyers expecting a lot of competition.