Friday, August 02, 2019

By John Voket How much would people be willing to sacrifice to obtain their own home? A recent survey conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of Wells Fargo provided some clarity on that concept.

For most Americans, owning a home means someone is a “successful adult" - over double than having children or getting married. But according to the poll, which included about 20 percent Millennials, many believe the top hurdle to buying for Americans is saving for the down payment. 

More than one in four (27 percent) say the down payment is the biggest barrier, and it’s even more pronounced for Millennials, with 38 percent calling out the down payment as the biggest challenge to buying a home.

According to the survey:
- Over seven in 10 Americans (72 percent) say they would give up something to save for a down payment, including dining out (44 percent), going to events (43 percent) and vacations (38 percent).
- Nearly half of Americans who are saving to buy or renovate a home (49 percent) have done work outside their primary job to supplement their income to pay for it.
- Nearly eight in 10 non-homeowners (78 percent) say they would be willing to accept their second choice of a city or town in order to afford their own home.
- Nearly three out of four non-homeowners (74 percent) say they would be willing to buy a smaller home with fewer amenities.
- Millennials who don’t own homes are even more willing to make trade-offs, such as considering a second choice of city (85 percent), and are more willing to take steps like side jobs (70 percent) or cutting expenses (83 percent) in order to save.

Survey results also suggest that Americans also have misperceptions about what it takes to increase their opportunity to get financing for a home, citing “perfect” credit (71 percent), being debt-free (65 percent), “having a lot of money in the bank” (59 percent) and having no student debt (38 percent). 

But, 31 percent of current homeowners in the survey say they never thought they would be able to purchase their own home, and that number was even higher (54 percent) for millennials. 

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