As with any major investment, there is much to worry about when it comes to purchasing a home. For many potential buyers, the road to ownership is often blocked by personal hazards such as growing student loan debt, limited affordability and the prospect of saving for a large down-payment.

However, the most recent ValueInsured Homebuyer Survey reveals that Americans are just as anxious about the external risks to buying a home as they are about personal ones. The July 2017 report suggests that factors such as shifting economic trends and environmental changes serve as additional causes for concern among those looking to become homeowners.

For example, despite noting a steady decrease in overall unease surrounding the country’s financial stability over the past 18 months, ValueInsured finds that 56 percent of all American adults interviewed cite the state of the U.S. economy as a source of apprehension when purchasing a home. Another 53 percent fear a second housing market crash, and at least 43 percent list national security and terrorism as possible barrier to ownership.

At 64 percent, the risk most prevalent among millennial respondents hoping to buy a home is the possibility of losing a job or being relocated. Other factors for millennials include the U.S. economy (63 percent), another housing crisis (61 percent) and the state of the global economy (60 percent). Moreover, nearly 51 percent of millennials and Gen-Xers feel that increased environmental changes – like rising sea levels – are a significant threat.

Though these external risk factors are understandably daunting, the U.S. housing market need not worry about their impact quite yet. In the same study, ValueInsured is happy to report that nearly 79 percent of Americans surveyed still feel as though homeownership is an irreplaceable part of the American Dream and that 78 percent of current non-homeowners are still intent on purchasing in the future.

Source: ValueInsured