SAN FRANCISCO, May 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/
-- Today Trulia®, a home and neighborhood site
that helps homebuyers and renters discover a place they'll love to
live, released the findings from its Consumer Home Buying Survey
which suggests that market conditions and financial obstacles could
be forcing millennial homebuyers to consider home and neighborhood
trade-offs in order to purchase a home. The survey, conducted
online by The Harris Poll of more than 2,000 Americans aged 18 and
older, found that 84% of millennials (ages 20-36) say they'd be
willing to give up one or more home features to live in their ideal
neighborhood, if they were looking for a new home. Meanwhile 89%
would be willing to give up one or more neighborhood features to
live in their ideal home.
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Millennial Buyers Under Pressure Thanks to Rising Prices and
Down Payment Savings
Of the 86% of millennials planning to
purchase a home, 35% plan to purchase in the next year. However,
rising home prices and shrinking inventory has created an
environment where compromises are needed to be made. As the largest
prospective home buying generation, almost all (98%) of millennials
planning to buy in the next year have encountered obstacles that
are keeping them from buying at this time. Unsurprisingly,
financial concerns rank at the top of the list, with rising home
prices as the most common culprit, affecting 40% of this population
and saving enough for a down payment coming in second at 31%.
Which of the
following are among the biggest obstacles
that are keeping you from buying a
home at this time?
|
Millennials
Planning to Buy in the Next Year
|
Rising home
prices
|
40%
|
Saving enough for a
down payment
|
31%
|
Having a poor credit
history
|
26%
|
Qualifying for a
mortgage
|
25%
|
Not having a stable
job
|
22%
|
Note: Multiple
responses possible.
|
Generational Gap: Money Problems More Likely to Deter
Millennial Buyers
Among those who ever planned to buy a
home, millennials are the generation most likely to have had to put
their home buying plans on hold at 90%, compared to 77% of Gen Xers
(ages 37-53) and only 61% of baby boomers (ages 54-73). A look at
generational differences in home buying obstacles sheds some light
on difficulties that are uniquely skewed toward millennials
including job instability (17%) and inability to pay off
student debt (15%). Significantly less baby boomers have struggled
with some of the biggest obstacles faced by millennials and Gen
Xers – in fact, 39% have never had to put their home buying plans
on hold.
Which of the
following have ever caused you to put your home buying plans on
hold?
|
|
Millennials
|
Gen
X
|
Baby
Boomers
|
Saving enough for a
down payment
|
36%
|
32%
|
21%
|
Rising home
prices
|
27%
|
26%
|
17%
|
Having a poor credit
history
|
25%
|
21%
|
9%
|
Not being able to
find a home I like
|
18%
|
17%
|
20%
|
Rising mortgage
rates
|
17%
|
12%
|
11%
|
Not having a stable
job
|
17%
|
7%
|
7%
|
Unable to pay off
student debt
|
15%
|
6%
|
1%
|
Note: Among
Americans that have ever had plans to buy a home. Multiple
responses possible.
|
Home Search Tradeoffs: Garages and Block Parties Top the List
of Features to Forgo for Millennials
Perhaps due to tight
budgets and fewer inventory, millennials are more willing than any
other generation to consider trade-offs in their home and
neighborhood. With 84% of millennials willing to give up a home
feature to live in their ideal neighborhood and 89% willing to give
up a neighborhood feature for their ideal home, older generations
are less likely to be willing to compromise. About a third, 35%, of
boomers and 22% of Gen Xers say they wouldn't compromise on any
home features for their ideal neighborhood while looking for a
home, and 19% of boomers wouldn't give up any neighborhood features
for their ideal home. Garages are the number one feature to go when
it comes to a new home feature for millennials, with 34% willing to
give it up – compared to 22% of Gen Xers and 15% of baby
boomers.
If you were
looking for a new home, which of the following home
features would
you be willing to give up if you could live in your ideal
neighborhood?
|
|
Millennials
|
Gen
X
|
Baby
Boomers
|
Garage
|
34%
|
22%
|
15%
|
Recently updated
kitchen
|
32%
|
29%
|
22%
|
Square
footage
|
30%
|
31%
|
31%
|
Storage
space
|
29%
|
21%
|
14%
|
Recently updated
bathroom
|
28%
|
29%
|
24%
|
Yard
|
26%
|
25%
|
21%
|
A bedroom
|
26%
|
15%
|
11%
|
A bathroom
|
20%
|
13%
|
7%
|
Other
|
5%
|
6%
|
3%
|
None
|
16%
|
22%
|
35%
|
Note: Multiple
responses possible.
|
Similar to home trade-offs, 89% of millennials are willing to
consider neighborhood concessions when searching for their ideal
home, with 24% willing to accept higher crime rates, while only 15%
of Baby Boomers said the same. However, all three generations
agreed that neighborhood activities, such as clubs and block
parties, would be the first feature that would get the axe during
their home search (35%, 36%, and 42%, respectively).
If you were
looking for a new home, which of the following neighborhood
features would you
be willing to give up if you could live in your ideal
home?
|
|
Millennials
|
Gen
X
|
Baby
Boomers
|
Neighborhood
activities (e.g., clubs, groups, block parties,
festivals)
|
35%
|
36%
|
42%
|
Access to parks
and/or trails
|
30%
|
26%
|
27%
|
Neighbors who share
the same political and/or social values as myself
|
30%
|
25%
|
29%
|
Good schools
nearby
|
27%
|
28%
|
37%
|
Short commute to
work
|
27%
|
30%
|
29%
|
Neighbors that you
can get along with/socialize with
|
26%
|
20%
|
16%
|
Low crime
rate
|
24%
|
21%
|
15%
|
Proximity to
amenities (e.g., restaurants, shops, grocery stores)
|
23%
|
29%
|
19%
|
Quiet neighborhood
location (i.e., neighborhood not near busy
streets/highways)
|
22%
|
21%
|
14%
|
The aesthetics of the
neighborhood (e.g., landscaping, appearance of the
houses)
|
19%
|
16%
|
12%
|
Other
|
2%
|
2%
|
2%
|
None
|
11%
|
13%
|
19%
|
Note: Multiple
responses possible.
|
Quotes from Trulia's Senior Economist, Cheryl Young:
- "For millennials, the dream of homeownership is alive and well,
but with prices going up and inventory continuing to shrink, this
new generation of buyers are facing more obstacles than any other
demographic. With tight budgets and fewer choices on the market,
most millennials are forced to make trade-offs and are more willing
than other generations to give up home and neighborhood features in
order to find their ideal home."
- "In markets where the economy and job growth are thriving, we
may see some of these financial challenges start to dissipate as
millennials mature into their careers. If anything, millennials can
hold out hope that the encouraging housing starts we saw in 2017
can lead to some relief in the starter home segment."
Methodology
This survey was conducted online within
the United States by The Harris
Poll on behalf of Trulia from April 10-12, 2018 among 2,026 U.S. adults ages 18
and older. This online survey is not based on a probability sample
and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be
calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting
variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact
pr@trulia.com.
About Trulia
Trulia's mission is to build a more
neighborly world by helping you discover a place you'll love to
live. Homebuyers and renters use Trulia's website and suite of
mobile apps to get a deeper understanding of homes and
neighborhoods across the U.S. through personalized recommendations,
insights sourced straight from locals, and 34 different map
overlays that offer details on commute, reported crime, schools,
nearby businesses, and more. Founded in 2005, Trulia is based in
San Francisco, and owned and
operated by Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: Z and ZG). Trulia is a
registered trademark of Trulia, LLC.
Media Contact:
Marcelo
Vilela
pr@trulia.com
415-400-7228
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SOURCE Trulia, Inc.