April 04, 2019
The Homeownership Aspirations of Millennials: Renovation
In many of our earlier posts we have discussed the phenomenon of Millennials buying homes: how, yes, they are in fact buying homes in larger numbers than any other generational group at the present time—as they have for the past two years now—but how, no, they are not buying homes at the same rates previous generations did when they were within the same age-range. We have pointed out the numerous reasons for this, from the Millennial experience of the Great Recession to the recent tightness of the starter-housing market spurred on by year-over-year rise in housing costs and low interest rates (which seem to have peaked in their respective directions and begun to recede at this point).
But there are other ways in which this generation of homeowners differs from previous generations, spurred on mainly by the technologies and social media that are their inheritance.
In November 2018, Chase Home Lending and Pinterest teamed up to release a report, “Pins & Properties: Chasing Your Dream Home”, which details one of these trends through the lens of the Pinterest phenomenon.
Fixer-upper culture is nothing new to property ownership, but Millennials do it a bit differently. Millennials have been increasing their share of starter-home purchases (rather than saving up for longer periods in the hope of buying their forever-home in one fell swoop, as has been their tendency to this point when they were able), and nearly 70 percent of Millennials consider home-ownership a major goal, considering it perhaps the best investment they could make. Meanwhile, nearly 95 percent of Millennials who have purchased a home intend to perform some form of renovation in the coming three years. Among these, 68 percent planned to spend $20,000 or more on their renovations, and 75 percent intended to pay for said renovations by tapping their home’s equity.
What’s interesting is that Millennials are also giving mind to the details: using Pinterest and other DIY-project share-sites, they are locating what they like in terms of décor and personalization, and choosing to perform these renovations—from redoing countertops, to tiling showers, to building mock-built-in shelving—on their own. “New landscaping” ranks as the top choice for renovating among Millennials, and closet overhauls have increased 7000 percent (!) in year-over-year search results on Pinterest.
It’s a good time to buy a starter home with an eye toward renovation. At Topouzis & Associates, P.C., we perform title searches and remedy problems with title in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Florida. We back these services with title insurance for both lenders and owners. Contact us if you’re considering purchasing a new property, whether for yourself or as an investment, so we can help ensure that you achieve true ownership without having to deal with unforeseen hassles arising from problems created by someone else in the past.
