Washington News Bureau

Survey: Many people value homeownership over other milestones but face affordability hurdles

WASHINGTON — Buying a home remains a major part of the American dream, but a new nationwide survey shows that for many, the dream is still out of reach.

This latest Bankrate survey reveals about 74% of people say owning a home is very important. Those who responded say they value homeownership over other milestone like a successful career, being able to retire and have kids.

For this report, Bankrate talked with more than 2,500 people who either already owned a house or wanted to purchase one in the future.

It finds more than 70% of aspiring homeowners can’t afford one because of financial hurdles.

This includes not earning enough income, expensive home prices and the inability to pay a down payment and closing costs.

The report also shows some people are willing to make sacrifices to find more affordable housing such as moving out of state or buying a fixer-upper property.

“What was particularly interesting is that this was more likely to be seen among younger. As the millennials, they also had a higher incidence of citing affordability as an obstacle. So, there’s a recognition of affordability being an issue to homeownership, but also a willingness to do something about,” said Greg McBride, Chief Financial Analyst at Bankrate.

Financial experts say buying a home isn’t impossible, but it may take another year of renting to boost your savings.

“I think important for would be homebuyers and first-time buyers to recognize that the true cost of ownership goes beyond just that monthly mortgage payment. There are a lot of other fairly significant and unpredictable costs that come with it,” said McBride.

The survey shows some people had regrets after buying a home. Those include buying something too small and overpaying for the property.

“We did see nearly half of homeowners 45% said that they had some regrets about the process and the regret wasn’t so much. ‘I wish I hadn’t done this.’ It was more about the surprise factor,” said McBride. “It was the fact that maintenance and other hidden costs were much more than expected. But that was a wakeup call.”

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