Aspiring Homeowners Want To Skip Starter Homes

Many aspiring buyers want to skip the starter home in favor of saving up for a larger, more permanent house, a Bank of America study of homebuyer attitudes reveals. Of first-time buyers, 75% would prefer a “place that will meet their future needs.” How long-term? Thirty-five percent plan to retire in their first home.

“Today’s aspiring homebuyers want to be selective and believe they should wait until they can afford to buy a home they’ll live in for years to come,” says Bank of America consumer lending executive D. Steve Boland. “They’re also realistic about the need to save for a down payment.”

Starter home inventory has been shrinking even as rents have grown, making it difficult to save toward buying a home. The latest study implies first-time homebuyers are waiting longer so they can own more permanently.

Here are some of the other key findings from the report:

• The dream is still alive. First-time homebuyers have an emotional need and desire to own a home, with 52% wanting “a place to call their own” and 31% seeing ownership as a way to “put down roots.”
• First-timers want to save more and pay off debts before they buy their house. Half are waiting until they can save more. Gen Xers, in particular, seem to be debt conscious, with 43% wanting to pay off various kinds of loans before they can own.
• Owning a home = retirement savings. Nine out of 10 people surveyed think saving for or paying off a mortgage is as important as saving for retirement.
• Millennials expect help from their parents when they buy their first home. Two-thirds want some type of help, financial or otherwise, from their parents when buying a home.
• A single-family house in the suburbs. More than half (52%) want to own their first home in the suburbs, while 26% want to live in the city.