What Homes Do Millennials Buy?

New NAHB research shows that millennials tend to buy homes that are smaller, older, and less expensive than homes bought by older generations. Being the youngest home buyers with little or no accumulated wealth also affects how millennials shop and buy their homes.

The majority of millennials are buying homes for the first time in their lives. Three out of four millennials who purchased a home were first-time buyers, but a quarter traded their existing homes.

Compared to older generations, millennials are less likely to buy a new home. Less than 9 percent of millennial home buyers bought a new home. The share was close to 12 percent among older home buyers.

More than two-thirds of millennials who bought homes purchased single-family detached properties. Nevertheless, compared to older home buyers, the millennial generation shows a slightly higher preference for multifamily condominiums. Close to 9 percent of millennial home buyers bought a multifamily property compared to less than 6 percent of older home buyers.

Consistent with being the youngest and largely first-time home buyers, millennials tend to buy homes that are, on average, smaller and concentrated in the lower price ranges compared to homes purchased by older generations. Half of all homes purchased by millennials averaged less than 1,650 square feet of living space and cost less than $148,500.

The most common reason for moving reported by millennial home buyers is to establish their own household, followed by the desire to have a larger unit and own it.

When choosing a particular home, millennials are more likely to let financial reasons influence their choice, while older generations consider the right size most often.

When selecting a new neighborhood, the right house most often influences the decision for both millennial and older home buyers. However, millennials are more likely to also pay attention to proximity to work and having good schools.

Compared to older generations of home buyers, millennials are more likely to finance home purchases out of current income rather than out of accumulated wealth, and when taking out mortgages they are more likely to use unconventional zero-down mortgages.

The research is based on the 2013 American Housing Survey (AHS), the most recent release of this ongoing biennial housing data collection. Only housing units purchased in the two years preceding the 2013 AHS interviews are considered. Housing unit characteristics are tabulated by the age of the household of head, a person in whose name the housing unit is owned. Millennial home buyers are householders that were 33 years old or younger in 2013 and bought homes within the two years prior to the AHS interviews.

Home Prices Continue to Rise

“Broad-based Slowdown for Home Prices”

That is a headline you might have seen over the past weekend. And though it is true, we must understand the story behind the headline. Case Shiller reports on the year-over-year difference in home values. Their latest report revealed that the rate of appreciation has slowed – not that prices are falling!! Here is exactly what they said:“The 20-City Composite gained 4.9% year-over-year, compared to 5.6% in August.”Prices are still up this month over last year’s values (4.9%) just not as much as they were last month (5.6%).

Home Prices are NOT Falling.

As a matter of fact, the latest Home Price Expectation Survey by Pulsenomics (a survey of a nationwide panel of over one hundred economists, real estate experts and investment & market strategists) showed that home prices will continue to appreciate for the next several years.

Bottom Line

Both first time buyers and families thinking of moving-up to their dream home can be assured that their investment in their new home makes sense.

The Real Estate Market Has Turned The Corner

As we finish 2014, it appears the real estate market is once again on solid footing and ready to advance forward over the next few years. The strength of the market can be viewed using two metrics: projected home values and projected house sales. We recently reported that the Home Price Expectation Survey revealed future home values will continue to appreciate nicely. Today we want to look at projections on the number of home sales (existing and new construction) we will see over the next two years. We researched what the National Association of Realtors (NAR), Freddie Mac and theMortgage Bankers’ Association (MBA) are projecting for the housing industry going forward. Here is what we found:All three entities see the number of home sales increasing in both 2015 and 2016. This is further proof the housing market is back.

Sales Up in almost Every Price Range

Posted: 02 Dec 2014 04:00 AM PST

The National Association of Realtors’ most recent Existing Home Sales Report revealed that home sales were up rather dramatically over last year in five of the six price ranges they measure. Only those homes priced under $100,000 showed a decline (-6%). Every other category showed a minimum increase of at least 9.7%.

Here is the breakdown:

 

What does that mean to you if you are selling?

Houses are definitely selling. If your house has been on the market for any length of time and has not yet sold, perhaps it is time to sit with your agent and see if it is priced appropriately to compete in today’s market.

Don't Let a Clogged Disposal Derail Your Holidays

Did you know that a clogged garbage disposal is one of the most common home repair mishaps to occur during the holidays? We've got a few tips that'll keep your disposal from derailing your holiday festivities.

If you have a garbage disposal there’s a good chance it has clogged on you a few times. Some of you may have even had to replace one or two over the course of your home owning experiences. At one point most of us fall into the trap of trying to shove every scrap of food down the thing. Sometimes the disposal is up to the task, other times, not so much. If you’ve ever had to deal with a clogged disposal you know how much fun it is - especially when it happens in the middle of preparing the most important meals of the year. Want to keep yours running free and clear? Follow these easy tips.

The easiest way to keep your disposal running is by knowing what not to put in it. You might be tempted to toss anything and everything down there, but avoid putting egg shells, potato peels, coffee grounds, rice, pasta, asparagus, celery, carrot peels and anything else hard, fibrous or gummy. Moral of the story: when it doubt, throw it out.

To that point, it goes without saying that you should also avoid overfilling the disposal. No matter how burly it is it can only handle so much. So can your pipes. To ensure that they don't get clogged be sure to run the water before and after you use the disposal.Is your disposal taking a bit longer to do its disposing? If so, its blades probably need sharpening. A quick way to sharpen them (and take care of any lingering smells) is to run some ice cubes and chopped lemons through the disposal.

Of course, following all those recommendations doesn't guarantee a clog-free disposal. Sometimes things just break. If your disposal is starting to show its age, or you're concerned about its operation, we recommend hiring a pro to come out and take a look at it. A quick tune up today can save you a headache later.