With the current surging housing market, it’s not surprising that many buyers find they’ve closed on a house that doesn’t quite fit their budget or needs. According to a Bankrate.com article by Zach Wichter, this has been particularly true for Millennials, who report having the most regret after buying a home.
Buyer’s remorse has become even more prevalent during the pandemic, when the pressure to buy a home has felt greater than before. That desperation has led to many buyers purchase a home before realizing it wasn’t right for them. This regret can be divided broadly into financial and physical and it isn’t the same across generations. For the most part, older buyers are less likely to have misgivings about their purchase after the fact. In fact, just 33% of Baby Boomer buyers have some regrets about their purchase compared to 64% of Millennials.
A major regret among all recent homebuyers was being ill-prepared for maintenance and other costs associated with homeownership. More than 20% of Millennial homeowners said they felt the costs of homeownership were too high and that number jumped to 26% among younger Millennials, ages 25-31.
Millennials were also the most likely to say they didn’t get a good mortgage rate or that they overpaid for property. Twelve percent of Millennials said their rates were too high and 13% said they agreed to a sale price that was more than it should have been.
While financial frustrations topped the list of regrets for new homebuyers, many survey respondents said they also came to realize their new place was literally not the right fit. Millennials again were the most likely to be unhappy with their new home’s physical characteristics. Fifteen percent of respondents from that generation said they disliked their new property’s location. Meanwhile, around 30% felt the home was not the right size.
The study was conducted by YouGov on behalf of Bankrate.com and...