by A just-released study from Clever Real Estate, a St. Louis-based real estate company, concludes that Gen Z is worried.
And once you hear what is keeping them up at night, you may be a bit concerned as well.
The study found that 60% of Gen Z worry they might never own their own home, with virtually all of adult Gen Zers (98%) identifying serious obstacles potentially preventing them from becoming homeowners.
To gather this data, Clever Real Estate says it polled “1,000 zoomers about their home-buying plans and strategies. We found that 96% have concerns about buying a home, including 54% who worry they won’t be able to afford it and 48% who worry about hidden costs,” the study said.
Drilling down into the data culled from the respondents, the survey also concluded that the combination of high prices for homes and escalating interest rates are the two most common challenges for Gen Z.
Specifically, half of the group cited expensive homes and another 31% saying interest rates are a barrier for them in terms of home ownership.
These two roadblocks become even more difficult because 29% of the zoomers polled said they struggle to make ends meet as is.
Citing figures that suggest inflation since the pandemic has caused food prices to rise 25% and rent prices to rise 30%, those spikes resulted in 52% of nonhomeowners saying they currently struggle to pay their rent
On a more positive note, the study claims that more than 90% of zoomers say owning a home is important.
The study revealed a number of other interesting statistics including:
Gen Z Home Buyer Statistics
Approximately 60% of Gen Z worry they might never own a home.
Nearly 1 in 3 zoomers (29%) think they’ll someday own a home worth more than $1 million, but a majority of Gen Z (52%) anticipate their first home will cost less than $250,000.
About 98% of Gen Z say they face barriers to homeownership, with expensive homes (50%) and high interest rates (31%) the most common barriers.
A majority of zoomers (52%) who do not yet own a home have struggled to pay rent, and 1 in 3 Gen Z homeowners (33%) have struggled to pay their mortgage.
About 63% of zoomers have less than $10,000 in savings, compared to just 25% of millennials. Zoomers (17%) are also 3x more likely than millennials (5%) to have nothing saved.
Some zoomers are so desperate to own homes, 56% would buy a home with asbestos, and 54% would buy a home that lacks central air conditioning or heating.
The average home buyer in the U.S. is 35 years old, but 90% of zoomers think they’ll buy a home at a younger age — including 33% who think they’ll own a home by the time they’re 25.
Although 92% of zoomers say owning a home someday is important, 96% say it’s not the most important goal in life.
To read the survey in its entirety, click here.
In my next column, I will try to offer some suggestions of what our sector can do to help consumers who want to buy a home.
