Most non-homeowners are willing to make trade-offs, smart
financial choices to help them afford a home
According to a new Wells Fargo survey, Americans are willing to
do what it takes to make their homeownership goals a reality — such
as taking on a side job, cutting expenses or considering a
less-expensive location.
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Graphic highlighting key findings of
Wells Fargo's 2019 “How America Views Homeownership” survey
(Graphic: Business Wire)
The Wells Fargo 2019 “How America Views Homeownership” survey
was conducted by The Harris Poll April 17–29, 2019, among 1,004
U.S. adults 21 and older. Key findings include:
- Nearly half of Americans who are saving to buy or renovate a
home (49%) have done work outside their primary job to supplement
their income to pay for it, such as selling items online (37%),
starting a small side business (21%), driving for a rideshare
company (18%) and dog sitting/walking (16%).
- Nearly eight in 10 non-homeowners (78%) say they would be
willing to accept their second choice of a city or town in order to
afford their own home.
- Nearly three quarters of non-homeowners (74%) say they would be
willing to buy a smaller home with fewer amenities.
- Over seven in 10 Americans (72%) say they would give up
something to save for a down payment, including dining out (44%),
going to events (43%) and vacations (38%).
- Millennials who don’t own homes are even more willing to make
trade-offs, such as considering a second choice of city (85%), and
millennials as a whole say they are more willing to take steps —
such as side jobs (70%) or cutting expenses (83%) — in order to
save.
“Homeownership is part of the fabric of American life, defining
communities and providing a base for families to live out their
dreams,” said Michael DeVito, head of Wells Fargo Home Lending. “As
today’s consumers set out to achieve their homeownership goals,
they are making smart financial decisions that position them — and
the communities they call home — for long-term financial
success.”
For Americans as a whole, homeownership still the
goal
Even in the wake of the Great Recession and current
affordability concerns, Americans see homeownership as a clear
metaphor for adulthood and achieving the American Dream. For most
Americans (70%), owning a home is seen as a sign that someone is a
“successful adult,” on par with having a career (73%). In fact,
homeownership is much more widely equated with being a successful
adult (more than twice as much) than having children (34%) or
getting married (32%).
Nearly nine in 10 adults (89%) say the benefits of homeownership
outweigh any drawbacks. Although most current homeowners (69%) had
to make hard sacrifices to afford their home, nearly all say buying
their home was worth all the sacrifice to save for it (90%). If
they had to do it over again, they say they still would choose to
buy their home rather than rent (93%). In fact, nearly all
homeowners (95%) say that, in the long run, owning a home provides
more “bang for your buck” than renting.
Millennials share this commitment: 95% of millennial homeowners
say it was worth the sacrifice, and 86% of millennials as a whole
say the benefits of homeownership outweigh the drawbacks.
“The majority of Americans see homeownership as an investment in
their future and as a key piece in achieving goals like financial
health and security,” said DeVito. “It is a meaningful step that
brings benefits not just to individual families, but also to the
neighborhoods and communities they call home. That’s why Wells
Fargo is focused on supporting homeownership and homebuyer
education, including our recently announced $1 billion commitment
to address housing affordability.”
The down payment is the thing
The No. 1 hurdle to buying for Americans is saving for the down
payment. More than one in four (27%) say the down payment is the
biggest barrier, and it’s even more pronounced for millennials,
with 38% calling out the down payment as the biggest challenge to
buying a home.
This attitude has persisted since the first Wells Fargo “How
America Views Homeownership” survey was conducted in 2014, when 24%
of respondents said saving enough for a down payment was the
biggest barrier to buying. That’s despite the fact that some
mortgage programs allow qualified buyers to put down as little as
3%.
Americans also have misperceptions about what it takes to
increase their opportunity to get financing for a home, citing
“perfect” credit (71%), being debt-free (65%), “having a lot of
money in the bank” (59%) and having no student debt (38%). In fact,
31% of homeowners say they never thought they would be able to
purchase their own home, and that number was even higher (54%) for
millennial homeowners.
“Financial education represents a tremendous opportunity when it
comes to helping more Americans achieve homeownership, and there
are a lot of resources available to address the misperceptions that
persist about homebuying,” said DeVito. “It is important to save
and tend to your credit score, but you don’t need perfect credit,
and there are low down payment loan programs designed to give
first-time buyers a clearer path to owning a home.”
About the survey
This survey was conducted
online within the U.S. by The Harris Poll on behalf of Wells Fargo
between April 17 and April 29, 2019, among 1,004 adults 21 and
older in the U.S., of which 211 are millennials (ages 21–38). The
sample includes 701 homeowners and 303 non-homeowners. Figures are
weighted where necessary by age, gender, race/ethnicity, region,
education, household income, marital status, employment, size of
the household, and homeownership status to bring them in line with
their actual proportions in the population.
About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company
(NYSE: WFC) is a diversified, community-based financial services
company with $1.9 trillion in assets. Wells Fargo’s vision is to
satisfy our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed
financially. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco,
Wells Fargo provides banking, investment and mortgage products and
services, as well as consumer and commercial finance, through 7,700
locations, more than 13,000 ATMs, the internet (wellsfargo.com) and
mobile banking, and has offices in 33 countries and territories to
support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With
approximately 262,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three
households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was
ranked No. 29 on Fortune’s 2019 rankings of America’s largest
corporations. News, insights and perspectives from Wells Fargo are
also available at Wells Fargo Stories.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190709005190/en/
Media Alfredo Padilla, 213-253-3379
Alfredo.Padilla@wellsfargo.com @APadillaWF
Tom Goyda, 314-875-8222 Tom.Goyda@wellsfargo.com @TomGoydaWF
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