Survey Shows Homeownership Is out of Reach for Many

LendingTree recently surveyed 2,000 people about homeownership. Results showed that, as much as they would like to, a majority said that will never happen.

According to the survey, 94% believe that owning a house is still considered to be part of the American Dream, but 38% in that group say it’s not as much of a dream as it used to be. Although 84% of the respondents said that they would like to own a house someday, 51% in that group said that homeownership will not happen for them.

For those who rent and don’t own, 49% said they can’t afford to make a down payment on a home. Forty percent said the home prices are way too high. In addition, 41% of Millennials say high interest rates are preventing them from buying a home, and 19% say it’s student loan debt that’s holding them back. 

The survey also found that 60% of Millennials who do not own a home are worried that they never will — the highest of any age group. Fifty-one percent of Generation X and Z renters felt the same way, compared to 36% of baby boomers. For those with children, 61% of parents whose children aren’t 18 yet were concerned they might not be able to own a home. Forty-nine percent of those without children expressed concern about the inability to achieve homeownership and 43% of those with adult children (18 and older) agreed.

While the top three reasons overall for not being able to buy a house are down payments, super-high prices and interest rates, Lending Tree found other reasons, among them low credit scores, lack of job stability, competing with other buyers and being unsure where they want to live.

“There’s no getting around how tough buying a home can be in today;s high interest rates and high price housing market,” said Jacob Channel, a senior economist at LendingTree. “As tough as it may seem, those who want to buy but can’t afford to right now should try to keep hope. The more time you give yourself to do things like save for a down payment and work on your credit score, the more likely you’ll be able to buy one day.”