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Saving for a down payment continues to delay US homeownership

by David Wolf

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.

Unfortunately for Boston residents, the number of years to save 20 percent down has always been high. Twenty years ago, it took seven years for the average Boston resident to save a downpayment. In 2018, it would take 10.5 years. Incomes for Boston households have increased faster than the national average at 72.8 percent, but home values also grew significantly more at nearly a 160 percent increase.

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