CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Millennials famously put off buying homes longer than previous generations and are now getting a rude welcome to the real estate market. Trading that trendy urban rental for a first home is bringing new buyers face to face with high prices and fierce competition.
Buyers between the ages of 25 and 40 are now the fastest-growing segment of homebuyers. According to the National Association of Realtors, millennials now make up 38% of the home-buying population.
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In 2018, millennial homeownership was at a record low. The generation has waited longer than previous generations to set up households after graduating from college in the last recession and carrying $1.5 trillion in student debt.
Three years later, millennials still face financial challenges, but other factors weigh on their purchase decisions and are pushing them into the market, says Faith Triggs, an agent with Keller Williams SouthPark.
Covid-19 sent many home to work, creating the necessity for more space or the desire for less communal living. Young couples can trade two rents for one mortgage. In many cases, friends are becoming roommates with one paying rent to help make the mortgage.
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Triggs says buyers are motivated by low interest rates and because they are already paying high rent.
“If you are paying $1,500 in rent for a small two-bedroom, and you can get a mortgage for $1,000 — you do the math. Why wouldn’t you do it?”
The Charlotte Business Journal spoke with buyers as well as real estate professionals to get a sense of how this generation is shaping market trends. Read the full story here.