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Six out of 10 Gen Zers worry they might never become homeowners.
That’s according to a survey by Clever Real Estate, which highlights the biggest barriers to homeownership for Gen Z as well as their top concerns and priorities.
Because while 92% of Gen Z respondents say owning a home is important to them, 96% prioritize other goals over homeownership, including stable employment, building a career, and starting a family.
Just 18% of prospective Gen Z homebuyers believe they can afford a home. And 33% of Gen Z homeowners have struggled to pay their mortgage.
There is such a thing as sacrificing too much to become a homeowner. And with 21% of Gen Z homeowners saying they didn’t have sufficient knowledge of the homebuying process, it’s painfully clear too many agents out there are dropping the ball when it comes to educating their buyer clients and working on their behalf.
Read on for some more highlights of the survey to gain a better understanding of how to help Gen Zers achieve homeownership sustainably—and at the right time for them.
NEARLY 1 IN 5 GEN ZERS HAVE $0 IN SAVINGS
The struggle to save for a down payment—while paying rent as well as other living expenses—is a significant barrier to homeownership for the majority of Zoomer non-homeowners in the survey.
Compared to just 25% of Millennials, about 63% of Gen Z non-homeowners have less than $10,000 in savings. Also, 17% of Zoomers have $0 saved, compared to 5% of Millennials.
Given that, it will take Gen Z prospective buyers far longer than Millennials to collect enough for a down payment—which, of course, grows larger as home prices continue to increase (assuming the buyer sticks with the same down payment percentage).
The median-priced home today costs roughly six times the median U.S. salary. According to Clever Real Estate’s report, that means the average homebuyer would need to save for about six years to put away enough for a 20% down payment.
But with 69% of Zoomer non-homeowners planning to save for fewer than six years, a large share of them will approach a home purchase with less than a 20% down payment saved up.
HOW GEN Z HOMEOWNERS VIEW HOMEBUYING PROSPECTS OF THEIR GENERATION
More than three-quarters (79%) of Zoomer homeowners don’t think the average Gen Zer can afford a home.
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