Monday, April 3, 2017

The Struggle is Real for Millennial Homebuyers

After years of many experts lamenting how Millennials weren't interested in becoming homeowners, it turns out many are actually diving in. But they're facing a lot of competition.

Millennials are the largest group of homebuyers, according to Ellie Mae, a software company that analyzes mortgage data. In January, Millennials represented around 45% of all purchase loans, up from 42% the same month in 2016.

And many expect more Millennial house hunters to jump into the market this spring buying season.

But their path to homeownership won't be easy.

"Millennials are mostly first-time buyers and they are competing against repeat buyers who have more buying leverage and experience," said Javier Vivas, manager of economic research for Realtor.com. He added that Millennials recently became the dominant group of users searching for homes on the website.

New buyers this spring will also be up against buyers who started looking last year, but still haven't bought a home.

A shortage of available homes has driven up prices -- particularly among starter homes that tend to fall within first-time buyers' budgets.

There were 3% fewer homes on the market in February compared to a year ago, according to a recent report from Zillow, and home values are up nearly 7%.

That's led to bidding wars and fierce competition, especially in the lower end of the market.

When Andy Greene and his wife Jenna began looking for their first home together near Columbus, Ohio, they found themselves in a super competitive market.

"We would get a notification that a house went on the market. You had to go see it that night ... you had to go the same day it was out," said Greene.

They thought they found their perfect home early in their search and put in an offer. But they weren't the only ones. The seller received 13 bids.

Despite going $10,000 above the asking price, the Greenes were not the winning bidders.

"It was a little defeating," said Greene. "It made us wonder if we were actually going to be able to make it work and second guessing if we could find something we could afford."

by Kathryn Vasel, CNN | Read more:
Image: markk