Are you attached to the home you currently own? If you are, you join 79% of homeowners in the Charlotte area. Bank of America conducted a survey of homeowners where they concluded that 79% of Charlotte residents could see themselves staying in their current homes for the rest of their lives. Homeowners here are proud of their homes and treasure the memories they have made. Traditional thinking has it that millennials are more interested in long-term renting than buying until they can find a forever home.
The survey helped Bank of America compile their second annual Homebuyer Insights Report. The national survey for the report looked at answers from 4,906 adults across the country. The bank focused on responses from 300 adults from 10 markets. The survey was conducted by GfK Public Communications and Social Science. The ten markets Bank of America focused on included Charlotte, Boston, Chicago, Dallas and Miami.
In the Charlotte area, 83% of homeowners believe home ownership has had a positive impact on their finances. 84% of homeowners are trying to make their homes more valuable by fixing up, adding on, updating, decorating and more.
Additional insights from the report include that millennials are much more interested in home buying than they have been before. Of millennials who have bought homes, 79% feel that home ownership has had a positive long-term impact on their finances.
It appears that the perception that millennials prefer long-term renting is incorrect. The study shows that they are buying homes or are interested in buying homes. They are realizing that buying a home can be more affordable than renting, and it does not have to mean that they have a harder time relocating. This means that the home they buy does not have to be a forever home, which is a shift from the previous year’s report when they said they might rent until they found a home they could live in forever.
If millennials are more inclined to buy a home, it may make the housing market even tighter than it is currently. There could be more buyers vying for the small inventory in the Charlotte area. This could give the advantage in a bidding war to an older buyer with more buying power or equity to invest. We will definitely keep an eye on this trend.
If you are interested in a home in the Charlotte area, give us a call at (704) 525-4045. You can also set up a customized search for homes on our website here.