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| HOMES ARE A BETTER INVESTMENT THAN RETIREMENT SAVINGS By Radhika Ojha Americans want to buy homes and they want to buy them as an investment option. According to a study on homebuyers by NerdWallet, a personal finance website, 75 percent Americans say that buying a home was a priority for them. NerdWallet analyzed data of more than 2,000 adults surveyed, the company's mortgage calculator, data from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and other sources to develop the study on current home buying sentiments, concerns, and outlook. The study found that most Americans considered buying a home as a good investment with 64 percent of the people surveyed citing this as a reason to buy a home. And it's not only the older generation that feels this way. Around 56 percent of millennials felt that they would rather own a home that appreciated in value than have more money in retirement savings, reflecting the sentiment of 52 percent of the overall people surveyed. In fact, according to the survey, 82 percent millennials said that buying a home was a priority compared with 75 percent of generation X and 69 percent of baby boomers. Millennials also aspired to buy more homes, on average throughout their lifetime and were most likely to say that they would like to buy a home to rent out for extra income. However, the costs for purchasing a home are a top concern for most Americans who rent. Though 91 percent of the people surveyed said that they would like to own at least one home in their lifetime, 88 percent of current renters had concerns about purchasing one due to the financial costs associated with it. The survey also found 35 percent reported that they were currently renting their primary residence but only 17 percent said they preferred renting to owning regardless of their current living situation. Renters with home buying concerns also cited the mortgage application process as what kept them from buying a home with 28 percent saying they were concerned about this process. Loan servicing, payments, modification and collections were some of the pet peeves of homebuyers against mortgage lenders. According to the survey that analyzed data from CFPB, approximately 3,338 complaints filed with CFPB related specifically to the mortgage application or underwriting processes in 2017. However, thousands were directly related to getting a mortgage in the first place. When it came to down payment, the survey, using NerdWallet's mortgage calculator data indicated potential buyers intending to put down approximately 20 percent towards the down payment of a home. To learn more about homebuyers' sentiment click here. Radhika Ojha, Online Editor at the Five Star Institute, is a graduate of the University of Pune, India, where she received her B.A. in Commerce with a concentration in Accounting and Marketing and an M.A. in Mass Communication. Upon completion of her masters degree, Ojha worked at a national English daily publication in India (The Indian Express) where she was a staff writer in the cultural and arts features section. Ojha, also worked as Principal Correspondent at HT Media Ltd and at Honeywell as an executive in corporate communications. She and her husband currently reside in Dallas, Texas. Original Source: DS News |
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