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Saving for a down payment continues to delay US homeownership

by Zachary Wright

It would take the average American seven years to save up enough to make a down payment on a typical home, according to Zillow’s latest report. This is longer compared to 20 years ago when it took the average American 5.5 years to save.

Over the course of the past 20 years, home values have increased twice as fast as household income. According to Zillow, home values have increased nearly 99 percent. Income has seen slower growth, increasing by 52.6 percent.

Zillow reported that it hasn’t taken this long to save for a down payment since 2008. “Saving for a down payment is one of the biggest barriers to owning a home, according to the Zillow Housing Aspirations Report, and when home values outpace incomes, it gets steadily harder to reach that goal,” the company said.

Skylar Olsen, Zillow’s director of economic research and outreach, said millennials are struggling to enter the housing market because of the risings costs. “Saving up for a down payment can be tough, especially when the costs of everyday life outpaces the money you put in the bank,” Olsen said.

In Miami, it would take the average homebuyer 10 years to save enough to afford a 20 percent down payment on the typical home. This is nearly double the 5.3 years from 20 years ago. Incomes among Miami households have increased slowly compared 20 years ago — 43 percent. However, home value changes are nearly quadruple income change. From 1998 to 2018, Miami home values increased 172.4 percent.

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