Desire to Buy A Home Strong Among Young Renters

Washington, DC, December 18, 2015—Although only half of surveyed households believe the economy is currently improving, nearly all young renters eventually want to buy a home, and a convincing majority still view homeownership as part of their American Dream, according to a new quarterly consumer survey released today by the National Association of Realtors.

Additionally, a newly-introduced index tracking the financial outlook of households found that compared to earlier this year an increasing share believes their personal financial situation will improve in the months ahead.

NAR's inaugural quarterly household survey, Housing Opportunities and Market Experience (HOME), tracks topical real estate trends, including current renters and homeowners' views and aspirations regarding homeownership, whether or not it's a good time to buy or sell a home, and expectations and experiences in the mortgage market. New questions may be added to the survey each quarter to reflect timely topics impacting real estate.

The HOME survey data reveals that an overwhelming majority of current renters who are 34 years of age or younger want to own a home in the future (94%). Overall, 83% of polled renters have a desire to own, and 77% believe homeownership is part of their American Dream.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says the survey's findings debunk the notion that young adults aren't interested in buying a home. "Despite entering the workforce during or immediately after the worst of the financial and housing crisis, the desire to become a homeowner appears to be a personal goal for a convincing majority of young renters," he said. "Furthermore, there appears to be sizeable, pent-up demand for buying that currently remains untapped because of a variety of economic and personal reasons impacting many households."

The top two reasons given by renters for not currently owning was the inability to afford to buy (53%) and needing the flexibility of renting rather than owning (19%). When asked what would likely be the main reason for buying in the future, renters cited lifestyle considerations such as getting married, starting a family or retiring (33%) and an improvement in their financial situation (26%).