How about Gen-X homebuyers? 

How about Gen-X homebuyers? 

America is famously youth-obsessed. Every few decades, we obsess over the next wave of young people, the new “it” generation. We talk about how they will change the world, drive trends, buy lots of stuff, and propel the economy. Take a look at the daily news headlines: “how Millennials spend their money”, “where Millennials want to work”, “what will Millennials watch this fall”…it goes on.

But how about Gen-Xers? They used to be the media darling. Sandwiched between Baby Boomers and Millennials, and with a smaller head count, are Gen-Xers the forgotten generation? We thought we would devote this week’s trend post to the former “slacker generation” that is making positive waves in housing today.

The Nomadic Millennials

The Nomadic Millennials

Millennials do not want to live in the same white picket-fence house for 40 years – it’s fair to say this is something that has been safely established. But a few recent reports and the latest ValueInsured Modern Homebuyer Survey provided new insights that shed more lights on this next-generation cohorts, their priorities, and how that may affect their plans to become homeowners.

Debunking the myth of Millennial homebuyer pessimism

Debunking the myth of Millennial homebuyer pessimism

We have all read the headlines: Millennials feel pessimistic about their future; Millennials are the gloomy generation. But according to the latest quarterly Modern Homebuyer Survey by ValueInsured, Millennials reported to be rather upbeat, at least when it comes to their outlook on the American housing market and their prospects of achieving the American Dream.

The results are rather jarring. In all measures, except one – more on that later – Millennials surveyed in the research appear more optimistic than their Gen-X and Baby Boomer counterparts. In the survey conducted in January 2017, Millennials were more likely to think the current American housing market is healthy, and more likely to believe buying a home today is a good investment (even when they are less likely to currently own a home compared to the Gen-Xers and Baby Boomers surveyed). Interestingly, despite more likely to be renters and to prefer a more nomadic lifestyle, Millennials in the survey are more likely to believe buying a home is financially more beneficial than renting. Here are samples of Millennials’ relative optimism regarding our current housing market

As home prices heat up, so does concern for housing stability

As home prices heat up, so does concern for housing stability

It has been 10 years since the great American housing crisis that began in 2006 and came to a halt in 2008. In the past decade, best-selling books, Academy Award-nominated film and countless business school lectures have been devoted to dissecting what happened and how to avoid a repeat of history. During this period, 10 million families who lost their homes due to foreclosures and many more affected by the crisis struggled to rebuild their life and their financial credits. It has not been an easy recovery for the housing industry and for many homebuyers.

Since 2008, federal regulations were put in place, mortgage practices – especially but not limited to subprime lending – have been tightened considerably, and home prices came back closer to earth in many markets. Well, prices were closer to earth, until recently.

Is the housing industry ready for this next generation of homebuyers?

Is the housing industry ready for this next generation of homebuyers?

Forecasts on their massive influence aside, is the housing industry ready for this next generation of homebuyers? Just as Millennials are different moviegoers than their parents, they will be different homebuyers. One of the starkest differences: Millennials shop for their homes differently. According to the National Association of Realtors, 99% of Millennials search online when shopping for a home. They are twice as likely as their parents’ generation to use a mobile device to look for a home. In fact, nearly 6 in 10 Millennials (58%) reported to have first found the home they eventually bought on a mobile device.  

Millennials also live and plan to own their homes differently than their parents. The average Millennial job tenure is 2.8 years. They make up 43% of all movers. But, many young people have moved throughout history. Do Millennials plan to settle down once they buy a home? One can expect they should, but they aren’t likely to own the same home for 30+ years as many in their previous generations do. According to the ValueInsured Survey, while “owning my own home” remains – just like for their parents – the top personal definition of the American Dream for Millennials, two other popular answers are “having the freedom to pursue opportunities wherever they are” and “being able to move and live wherever I want”.

Other latest findings that indicate Millennials may be a generation on the move include..

How can first-time homebuyers afford to buy in this heated market? Ask your parents.

How can first-time homebuyers afford to buy in this heated market? Ask your parents.

This may be what the gold rush felt like, except it is now a rush to buy homes. We keep hearing housing demand is high, inventory is tight. Some headlines even describe homebuyers as "panicking" to rush to buy homes, or rushing to lock in low rates. Yes, if you have been paying attention to recent reports, you may have seen the word “rush” used frequently when describing today’s home buying activities.

However, while many first-time home buying hopefuls wonder how they can save enough to buy at today’s sky-high prices, some may at the same time notice their own parents are selling. Baby Boomers are downsizing, and many are making bank.  And they can help...

How to give sideline homebuyers more confidence

How to give sideline homebuyers more confidence

What has been somewhat over-shadowed by the red-hot housing headlines are reports of unsustainable home prices, often by the same industry experts and forecasting models. According to the latest report by Fitch Ratings, home prices in Dallas are 10% –14% higher than what the market can sustain based on its economic fundamentals including population growth and inflation-adjusted income growth. Many of the largest and hottest real estate markets in the country are also over-heated by estimated 5% to double-digit percentage levels.

In ValueInsured’s latest quarterly Modern Homebuyer Survey, 3 out of 4 interested homebuyers– prospective homebuyers who plan to buy within the next 24 months – said they would buy a home sooner if they could have more confidence they would not lose their down payment after they buy, in the event home prices go down and they need to sell their recently purchased home resulting in a loss.

Homebuyers’ confidence on the rise as some anticipate correction on overheated prices

Homebuyers’ confidence on the rise as some anticipate correction on overheated prices

Homebuyer sentiment has always been a very interesting, dynamic and often unpredictable factor in the housing market. Take home prices, for example. According to the recently released S&P/Case-Shiller U.S National Home Price Index, home prices in December 2016 continued a record-breaking streak, having risen to a 30-month high. Previous all-time highs were smashed in seven major cities, including Boston, Charlotte, Dallas, Denver, Portland, San Francisco and Seattle. By all account, inventory has been tight, and there is the looming threat of imminent interest rate hikes. You would think homebuyers would be deterred; some might even throw in their towels and decide to stay life-long renters.

However, homebuyer psychology is a funny thing....

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