Buying and selling a home today can be both an overwhelming and simple experience. For millennials who are coming into adulthood, home buying has been made easier with the use of the internet, but can still be a lot to navigate. The internet is a great tool as it gives ample amounts of information on local schools, neighborhoods, and the home itself, including photos. It may seem that home buying has been made easier, but buyers can still find it difficult with paralysis by analysis. Here is how home buying has changed since your parents bought their home.
1. There may be more millennials, but there are more older buyers.
Today, Americans are delaying home buying, just as they have delayed marriage. Older millennials do make up a large portion of first-time buyers, but the majority of overall buyers are increasing with age. According to information from the California Association of Realtors, the median age of home buyers in 1985 was 33, today that number is 44. This is partly due to increasing prices and needing a mature salary in order to afford a home.
2. It’s not just married couples
Three decades ago, home buyers were almost exclusively married couples at 81 percent. Since then, that number has dropped to 67 percent, with 15 percent being single females, 9 percent single males, and 7 percent unmarried couples.
3. Prices are increasing
Much to buyer’s dismay, home prices have been steadily increasing. Whatever your parents paid for your childhood home in 1985 would have to pay 1.75 times that today. But at the same time, incomes have increased 127 percent from the average salary of $23,618 to $53,657. This has lead to the low homeownership we are seeing today with 2015 being the lowest since 1989.
4. Houses are getting bigger
The average home in 1985 was 1,600 square feet, today that number has grown to 1,900. Even with increasing home sizes, family sizes are shrinking. So what are people doing with the extra space; more bathrooms. Say goodbye the time when you had to fight for the bathroom to get ready in the morning. Today, the average new home sold has more than three bathrooms.
5. Luxury has also increased
The overall standard of living has also increased over time into luxury living for most Americans. Amenities like central air conditioning and dishwashers were only available in a select few homes 30 years ago. Today, we can’t imagine our lives without them.
