Dive Brief:
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While millennials have captured the headlines for home sales in the last year, their immediate predecessors, members of Generation X, have also been on the move, according to data from the National Association of Realtors’ 2017 Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends report, which surveyed more than 90,000 recent homebuyers.
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The group is expected to take a 28% share of home sales in 2017, up from 26% in 2016 and the most since 2014. That’s compared to millennials and baby boomers at 34% and 30%, respectively, this year.
- Other takeaways from the NAR report include: the increase in children living with millennials and young baby boomers; the prevalence of student debt among Gen X and boomer households; and that millennials are buying homes in the suburbs.
Dive Insight:
The decision to purchase a home — and the ability to pay for it — is subject to a confluence of demographic and socioeconomic factors, only some of which are within buyers’ control. The NAR report offers more details on pain points, major shifts and other areas of divergence from the typical set of considerations.
All three generational groups included in the survey identified a relationship between student debt and their ability to purchase a new property, with millennials being the most likely to have student loans but Gen-Xers reporting a higher balance.
Seven in 10 respondents to a survey last June from the NAR and the nonprofit American Student Assistance said student debt was holding them back from buying a home. Half of all respondents said it would prevent them from owning for at least five years.
The suburbs continue to appeal to those who are buying. In the latest NAR survey, 15% of millennials purchasing a home did so in a major city, compared to 17% in 2016 and 21% in 2015. Recent data from Zillow holds similarly, noting that half of millennial respondents to a recent survey said they lived in the suburbs.
The higher cost that typically comes with city living is one factor keeping millennials on the fringes. A report this week from Zillow and family-care platform Care.com found that urban households spend $9,073 more annually on housing and child care costs than suburban households. The report compares property taxes, mortgage payments and child care across the country’s largest metros, with the difference starkest in New York City, Chicago, and Dallas-Fort Worth, TX.
Last week, WalletHub looked at property taxes based on the median home values in each U.S. state to find where homeowners paid the most annually. New Jersey topped the list at $7,410 annually, followed by Connecticut ($5,327) and New Hampshire ($5,100). Alabama ($543), West Virginia ($607) and Arkansas ($693) rounded out the ranking.
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