One-third of prospective buyers have moved in
with parents or other family to help save money to buy a home this
year
SANTA
CLARA, Calif., Oct. 10,
2023 /PRNewswire/ -- With fall buying season upon us,
would-be homebuyers facing affordability challenges may be turning
their parents and extended family into co-buyers or roommates to
find a place they can all call home, according to a recent survey
from Realtor.com® and Censuswide. Recent
return-to-office requirements and high childcare costs may also be
driving home shoppers to factor family proximity and support into
their purchasing plans, the research shows.
Of those surveyed who are planning to buy a home within the next
12 months, half (51%) are potentially looking to their parents to
help them prepare for buying a home, with nearly one third (29%)
saying they've already moved in with their parents to help save
money in preparation for buying a home and another quarter (22%)
saying they would consider doing so.
Similarly, one third (32%) of respondents are even cohabitating
with other family members to help save enough money to buy a home,
including siblings, aunts and uncles, and cousins, and another 24%
would consider doing so.
Hoping to be close to family to share childcare and reduce
expenses
In addition to the short-term savings that
living with family provides, many are planning to stay close to
family even after they've saved up by purchasing a home nearby
their relatives. Twenty-eight percent of respondents who are
planning to buy a home in the next year are doing so in part to be
closer to their family.
Of those who are planning to buy a home to be close to family,
many are motivated by financial reasons and sharing the cost and
responsibilities of childcare. Helping care for other children in
the family was cited as a top reason by that group (50%), followed
by needing affordable help caring for their own children (44%).
Other top cited reasons for buying near family were because they
liked the area, prices/cost of living have become too high where
they currently live, or health issues.
While many would-be buyers are looking to buy a home near their
family, many respondents already call their family neighbors, with
about 4 in 10 surveyed consumers saying their parents, siblings,
extended family or grandparents have purchased a home near
them.
Co-buying and living with family longer-term
As
housing affordability continues to be a barrier for many would-be
buyers, co-living or co-buying with family has gained significant
popularity in recent years. Eighty-three percent of those surveyed
would consider buying a home to live in together, as a primary
residence, with someone other than their spouse/partner, including
an extended family member or friend. Respondents were most open to
buying a home with their child (37%), a romantic partner they're
not married or engaged to (31%); a sibling, cousin or other family
member from the same generation (27%), and their parents or in-laws
(23%).
Realtor.com®'s collaboration tools make it
easy for shoppers buying a home together and let you invite your
home search partner to link Realtor.com® accounts
and begin sharing your home search in one easy place across all
devices, including comments back and forth that only the two of you
can see.
"The challenging market conditions this year are changing buyer
behavior in significant ways, driving many more people to explore
alternative living situations they may not have considered in the
past," said Danielle Hale, Chief
Economist at Realtor.com. "Mortgage rates hovering at or near 7%
have eroded buyers' purchasing power at a time when the
consistently low number of homes for sale has kept housing markets
surprisingly competitive."
For those who would consider buying a home with someone other
than their spouse, top reasons cited included that pooled resources
would afford them a better location (43%), a more updated home
(41%), and/or a bigger home (38%). One-third (36%) of those who
said that they would buy a home with someone other than their
spouse said it was because they're already living together and
would prefer to buy and start building equity sooner, and 29% said
it's because they can't afford to buy a home on their own.
"While home buyers have long received financial assistance from
family members to help them afford a home purchase – especially
first-time home buyers who may not have already built up equity –
we're seeing more and more prospective buyers take this a step
further," said Clare Trapasso,
executive news editor at Realtor.com®. "Faced with
ongoing housing affordability issues and rising childcare costs,
we're seeing parents and children becoming roommates again in later
years as the 'kids' save up to purchase their own place, siblings
moving near each other to pool childcare resources, and some even
buying homes with family to split the financial burden and make
homeownership a reality."
Survey Methodology
The research was conducted by
Censuswide, with 2,291 respondents in the U.S. The fieldwork took
place May 12-19, 2023. Censuswide
abides by and employs members of the Market Research Society which
is based on the ESOMAR principles.
About
Realtor.com®
Realtor.com® is an
open real estate marketplace built for everyone.
Realtor.com® pioneered the world of digital real
estate more than 25 years ago. Today, through its website and
mobile apps, Realtor.com® is a trusted guide for
consumers, empowering more people to find their way home by
breaking down barriers, helping them make the right connections,
and creating confidence through expert insights and guidance. For
professionals, Realtor.com® is a trusted partner
for business growth, offering consumer connections and branding
solutions that help them succeed in today's on-demand world.
Realtor.com® is operated by News Corp [Nasdaq:
NWS, NWSA] [ASX: NWS, NWSLV] subsidiary Move, Inc. For more
information, visit Realtor.com®.
Media contact: press@realtor.com
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SOURCE Realtor.com