5 Millennial Home Buying Anxieties

April 5, 2023

The millennial generation has reached the age at which buying a home is a possibility. Many have finished school, found a job, and are now considering settling down. But like most home buyers, the millennial generation has concerns about making a major purchase such as a house. This generation also has a couple of worries holding them back that are even more prominent now than they were in past generations. The millennial generation is one of big dreams, and with those big dreams, there is a price tag many are still paying down. There is also the added pressure coming from being single and consequently having only one income.

To elaborate, here are five of the top concerns millennials have about buying a house.

Only Having One Income

Millennials are waiting longer to get married if they get married at all. According to the article Why Millennials Refuse to Get Married by Meg Murphy, the median age of marriage is twenty-seven for women and twenty-nine for men. This is up from 1960 when the median ages were twenty and twenty-three respectively. Since many millennials are delaying or completely forgoing marriage, this means if they are not co-habituating with a partner, any responsibilities for paying a monthly mortgage and insurance will fall solely on the shoulders of one person. Only having one income will mean millennials have more reason to be concerned about making such a major purchase as a house because, if they lose their job, they will not have the money to finance their monthly payments. Also, individuals who apply for a home loan with a spouse have greater opportunity to get more financing, which means they are more likely to be able to afford the house they actually want. Many younger single people might see buying a house as a foolish decision if they don't make enough to qualify for a loan large enough to buy a house with more comforts than what they can get with leasing.

Continue reading to learn how travel can factor into the delay as well.

The Pressure of Traveling Before Setting Down

The pressure of traveling before setting down is a real concern for many millennials, as they want to travel while they are young and don't yet have children. When there is a mortgage to pay and a house to maintain, it's a lot more difficult to leave the country for a year-long expedition. There is also pressure when they see their friends traveling. Some millennials feel like they are missing out on exciting travel opportunities, especially if friends and family tell them they should be using their youth to explore the world and gain experience abroad. In general, millennials are waiting longer to achieve many milestones like marrying, having a family, and buying a house and instead of these milestones, they are spending more time in school and travel. This can slow down reaching certain goals, such as owning a home, by a decade or more.

Continue reading to learn about the influence student loan debt has.

Student Loan Debt

Student loan debt is high among millennials. In fact, according to research done by PadillaCRT and contracted by ORC International, more than a third of millennials reported student loan debt of more than thirty thousand dollars, and these former students are also putting off buying a house at a rate of forty-one percent because of those student loans. With a couple or even several hundred dollars extra going out every month, it's easy to see why some might think of it as a stretch or even impossible to tack on an extra several hundred or even couple of thousand onto their monthly expenses.

Continue reading to reveal the specter of buyer's remorse.

Fearing Buyer's Remorse

Fearing buyer's remorse can be a strong reason for anyone to forgo or at least put off buying a house. Many individuals are concerned about the neighborhood the house is in, paying more than what the house is worth, setting up the wrong type of mortgage, and many other concerns requiring expert knowledge to alleviate. They also worry they won't be able to fix the house when something breaks, and with millennials who already have high debt because of student loans, the fear is even higher. Some millennials are not as established in their careers as people in their late thirties and early forties, so they would be less able to weather the loss if they found out they paid ten percent more than what the house is worth.

Sometimes the biggest uncertainty is life itself. Read for more information.

Life's Uncertainties

Millennials have a lot of life's uncertainties that many other generations have experienced. They might worry about unexpected health concerns, unforeseen problems on the house, marital problems, or loss of a job. They also might not know if they will have to move for work, and when they have a mortgage, house insurance, and real estate taxes to pay, for those who don't have a strong footing, the burden of a house might be too much of a risk.

Buying a home is a big decision, and millennials are taking their time in deciding to buy a home. There are numerous concerns many individuals, especially those in early adulthood, are facing. And some of them will deter younger adults in the millennial generation from buying a home.

MORE FROM StackedMoney