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The Top Sacrifices Millennial Buyers Say They’ll Make

Buying a house is a major financial transaction and, for most Americans, the largest one they’ll ever undertake. So pulling the necessary resources together to be able to afford the upfront costs, in addition to the ongoing obligations, maintenance, and upkeep can be difficult. Especially for first-time home buyers who don’t have the benefit of being able to sell a home to help fund their down payment. For this reason, many millennials who aspire to homeownership have decided it’s worth making a few sacrifices in order to help save money to buy a house. In fact, according to a recent survey from ValueInsured, there are some common sacrifices young Americans say they are willing to make in order to buy their first home. For example, nearly 60 percent of respondents said they would cut down or give up eating out – which made giving up restaurants the most popular sacrifice among survey participants. Other common sacrifices included taking a second job, not going on vacations, moving back in with their parents, and giving up shopping for clothes. More here.

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Nearly 60% Of Homeowners Plan Home Improvements

If you’re a homeowner, you know the to-do list is never ending. And, if you’re a buyer, you’ll know soon enough. That’s because, owning a home means maintaining a home. Proof of that can be seen in the fifth annual LightStream Home Improvement Survey. According to the results, 58 percent of surveyed homeowners say they’re planning to spend money on home improvement projects in 2018. And the number who said they plan on spending $35,000 or more has doubled from last year. But though there are more homeowners planning projects this year, the list of projects hasn’t changed all that much. Once again, outdoor upgrades remain the most popular, with decks, patios, and landscape projects topping the list. Kitchen and bathroom remodels, of course, also rank high, coming second and third on Americans’ home improvement, to-do list. So how are these homeowners planning on paying for all these upgrades and renovations? Well, the vast majority said they were paying for their projects out of savings. However, another way homeowners are saving on their home improvement bills is by doing, at least, some of the work themselves. More here

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Conditions Are Ripe For Spring Home Buyers

As the spring home buying season approaches, there are many moving parts analysts and experts look at to determine how home buyers and sellers might fare. Economic growth, the job market, interest rates, home prices, buyer demand, and inventory are just some of the factors that will determine how many hopeful home buyers find new homes this year. According to one outlook – from Fannie Mae’s Economic and Strategic Research Group – conditions are good for buyers, except for one specific, long-standing obstacle. “We don’t expect rates to play much of a role in total home sales, especially with anticipated stronger disposable household income growth,” Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae’s chief economist, said. “The ongoing inventory shortages should constrain sales despite otherwise ripe home buying conditions.” In other words, though mortgage rates may inch upward this year, so will household income. That leaves inventory as the main challenge to buyers this spring. With fewer homes for sale, there will be more competition and pressure on prices. More here.

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Single Home Buyers Face Added Challenges

Without the benefit of two incomes, single home buyers face some added challenges when looking to buy a house. For one, it takes longer to save for a down payment. In fact, according to a new analysis, married or partnered couples can save a 20 percent down payment on the typical home in less than five years. For single home buyers, it takes closer to 11 years. Add to that, single home buyers are more likely to be looking for a smaller, affordable home – which is precisely the type of house that is currently in highest demand. Zillow senior economist, Aaron Terrazas, says two incomes helps with savings but also with increasing the number of homes available to buy. “Single buyers typically have more limited budgets, which means they are likely competing for lower-priced homes that are in high demand,” Terrazas said. “Having two incomes allows buyers to compete in higher priced tiers where competition is not as stiff.” Of course, your individual financial situation and local market conditions will ultimately determine how much you’ll need to save and how much competition you’ll face for available homes. But single, married, or otherwise, it’s best to be as prepared as possible before heading out to look for a house to buy. More here.

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Contracts To Buy Homes Rise For 3rd Straight Month

If you look at just about any reading of the current housing market, you’ll find that there are a lot of Americans interested in buying a home right now. Whether it’s because of pent-up demand that built up in the years following the housing crash or a drive to buy now while mortgage rates are still well below their historical norm, the fact is buyer demand is high. The most recent National Association of Realtors’ Pending Home Sales Index provides more evidence of this. That’s because the index – which measures the number of signed contracts to buy homes – ended the year with its third consecutive monthly increase. Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, says the housing market has started the year with a little bit of momentum. “Another month of modest increases in contract activity is evidence that the housing market has a small trace of momentum at the start of 2018,” Yun said. “Jobs are plentiful, wages are finally climbing and the prospect of higher mortgage rates are perhaps encouraging more aspiring buyers to begin their search now. More here.

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Buying More Affordable Than Rent In Most Markets

When it comes time to make a move, most of us are choosing between renting a place or buying a house. And making that calculation has a lot to do with where you are in your life and what your goals are. But it also has a lot to do with your financial situation. Because of this, ATTOM Data Solutions analyzes the average rent for a three-bedroom property, weekly wage data, and home price information in 540 counties nationwide in an effort to determine whether renting or buying is the more affordable choice. According to their most recent Rental Affordability Report, buying a home is still the more affordable choice in a majority of markets. However, the data is a bit more complicated than that. In fact, though buying is more affordable in the majority of markets, it isn’t in a lot of the country’s most populated counties. The data shows that many markets where the population is above 1 million have affordability challenges not seen in areas further from major metropolitan centers. More here.

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The One Thing Home Buyers Won’t Compromise On

Buying a home means making a lot of choices. You’re going to have to make decisions on everything from how far you’re willing to drive to work and how much storage space you’ll need for all your stuff. The best way to handle the long list of choices you’re going to have to sort through is by breaking into things you can live without and things you have to have. Deciding in advance where you will and won’t compromise will make the buying process easier once you’re fully submerged. So what are the things home buyers are least willing to give up on? Well, according to one recent survey, most buyers say they want a house that doesn’t require a lot of renovations or upgrades. In fact, nearly one third of respondents said this was non-negotiable. And that makes sense. After all, who wants to go through the ups-and-downs of the home buying process only to move into a house that requires months worth of work before you can enjoy it? Other things buyers said they wouldn’t compromise on included a bigger home, outdoor space, a great neighborhood, and a shorter commute. More here.