I
remember when I was a kid,
my parents bought their first home in their late 30s. They
had bought
the land
first and then used it as a down payment to have the home of their
dreams built
on that land. All the neighbors that were also first time home buyers,
were
also in their late 30s and all had a very large down payment.
But,
today, I see many 20 year olds buying their first home.
They are doing
it
with little or no down payment and putting themselves in a situation of
debt
right out of college. Many haven’t even paid off their student loans
before
taking on the biggest purchase of their lives.
Now, do I think home
ownership is a great investment in their future?
YES, but
I also know, when I was 25, I wasn’t ready to settle down in any one
place yet.
I was still wondering if I was going to stay in my home town or move
across the
country.
I’m not sure today the
youth of America
are ready to settle down, even if they are being given a boost
with the
$8,000
tax credit. I can easily see, in a few years, with the little money
down and no
closing cost purchases going on today that we could very easily have
another
housing meltdown.
How old were you when you bought your first home?
Todd Clark - Broker / Sales Coach
Palazzo Realty Group
Phone: (503)524-9494
Fax: (503)622-8739
©2009 Todd Clark - Is the average age of the first time home buyer younger today than it was 30 years ago?!
Todd Clark and the Friendly Home Team
Knipe Realty
Todd@IFoundYourNewHome.com
Phone: (503)524-9494
Fax: (503)622-8739
I am a licensed Realtor who specializes in Washington County, Oregon and also work in both Clackamas and Multnomah Counties including the cities of Aloha, Beaverton, Canby, Clackamas, Gladstone, Gresham, Happy Valley, Hillsboro, Milwaukie, Oregon City, Sherwood and Tigard.
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Hmmm interesting - I was 27 -.......but my folks were in their forties........but for me its not so much that they're in their twenties - but very often EARLY 20's!
Hi Todd - I bought my first home about a century ago, and I was 23, so I guess if left up to me, that disproves your theory. But I do think that with couples both working and getting paid well, there are more young people able to purchase a home than there were when most families were one-income homes.
I bought my first home when I was 22 with my then boyfriend who ended up being my husband. We had "gift" money from my parents to help with the downpayment, had to sit thru classes before getting the loan, paperwork drawn up by a lawyer stating how things would be split if we split. It was a great investment and helped us move to our next home 3 years later, we've bought and sold homes every three years on average since then and I'm 37 now. We are now at a home that we are planning on staying at for many many years. I might have the urge again soon, I guess I'm nomadic. October is three years at the current home we own....... we'll have to wait and see...... (please note my husbands job has made us relocate often which helped catapult our moving every few years)
One main thing that has made this work for us, we sacrificed having the "fun cars, big tv's, brand new everything" so that we could have a home. We were teased a ton by everyone thru-out our 20's and early 30's. We've always been proud of our choice to own a home vs. a new car.
Great point, great blog as always. I always look forward to your post. Grew up in the North West and enjoy your post.
I was 20 and my husband was 21. And it was in the 70's. We used our VA to buy a $31,000.00 home. I remember being so frightened that we would starve before we could make the $300 payment (interest rates were around 8% then). That was 8 houses ago. We are hopefully, in our home for life now..
Todd - My husband and I built (put up a modular home) on land we bought. We were in our early 30's back then and sub contracted the whole construction. My husband sold his treasured boat so we could buy the land to put the house on. The construction process was a nightmare. We had to get approval from the inlands/wetlands commisssion to build, had a cement truck fall into the ground of the foundation and then had to buy an adjacent piece of land when we found out that we neeed and larger engineered septic system. But with all we went through, it was wonderful to have our own home and a place to call our own.
The factor of young people buying with little down is not so much a function of the tax credit - which, as you know, can't directly be used for the down payment - as it is of the low-down FHA loans being used.
I was 23 years old and just a few years after arriving to the USA. I was paying 13% interest and I though it was a bargain!
My husband was 23 when he bought his first home. I don't recall how much he put down but the interest rate was 12%. When we bought our second home we put down $50,000 on a $132,000 purchase price. I have never, ever encouraged buyers to buy with no money down. I just think it's a bad idea.
I was 34 years old and put down 50% of the cost of that home, which was a whopping $39,900. Sold it 2 years later for $92,000 with little investment and knew I did something right. Within another year I got a real estate license. I agree that buying without a down payment and too much of a home is a bad idea for first timers.
I was 35 when I bought my first home. I was in college, grad school, then law school moving from apartment to apartment. My first year of marriage we lived in a house that was given to us for 1 year. Soooooooooooooo blessed. Just moved into my 2nd house prior to Thanksgiving of last year.
The answer is 26 and it cost $17,000 @ 9.25% interest. I am working with several people that are younger than my kids. I treat all my clients the same, age is never a factor...
What a great day to be alive!
Paul
I was 23 when my wife and I bought our first. It was great for us and in a few we will have it paid off. But....we are unusual 20 somethings.
Todd,
I tried to buy my first house (1980) when I was 26 - an E6 in the Army, having just returned from 6 years in Europe, Jimmy Carter was in the White House and then our economic problems were run away inflation. I was stationed at Ft. Carson, in Colorado Springs
I wish I could remember how much the new construction home was - but I'm sure it was somewhere around $50K and I had a 20% down that I had saved, despite the devaluation of the dollar overseas over the proceeding 3 or 4 years.
I had 'qualified' to buy the home with my 20% down. I had a $1,000 EMD on the line (which I lost). In those days, there were no loan locks. Well, I could afford the home when I could get a good loan for only 18%. However, during the construction period the rates jumped to 21% and this blew me out. My family and I ended up losing our $1,000. Based in part, on those circumstances we made a decision to get out of the Army, after 10 years of service and go home to California and work with family members. Unfortunately, in hindsight, it ws the worst career move I ever made.
So, buying a house today, it's easy if you have the internal fortitude to go after what you want.
Todd - I was 23 when I bought my first home, 25 when I bought my second/vacation home. Never had any doubt I could make it, because I'd work two jobs and eat Top Ramen if that is what it would take. Most of the first timers I work with are the same.
Interesting question Todd. I bought my first home when I was 25. Of course I had a two year old and was married. We had a VA Loan and I did save up money, plus paid down debt in order to get in the house. Also we did not buy at the top of our pricing point, "What we could qualify for".
I think every situation is unique and different. It depends on the lifestyle of the 20 year old I think.
Todd - I was 24 but my husband was 38. It was in the late 80's and we put 10% down and our rate was 16% and we were estatic and grateful to get it. Today, sometimes I want to smack my 20-something clients upside the head when they complain about their FHA loan at 5%. SERIOUSLY!!!
I think a lot of it will depend on if they are able to keep working.... job + $ = House payment!
Im not surprised that we are seeing that number drop. You are right that many kids that age are not looking to settle down, but times are different now then they were back then. Kids are ready to get going in life and are maturing at a younger age. Okay, not all of them, but many.
My husband and I were 28 and paid about $40,000 for a large 4 bedroom house. We only kept it about a year since we moved to a different state. Looking back that sounds kind of stupid but we walked away with a $5,000 profit and that was a long time ago. LOL
very interesting point...
seems that years ago people saved up to put down 20+ percent...
Now we get a 8K credit...
your friend in Charlottesville Virginia!
I've talk to most everyone that I know and their parents didn't buy until they were in their 30's, but most agents I've talked to bought in their 20's, interesting!
Average age purchasing a first home is INCREASING according to a London based consumer research company.
Link here http://www.ifaonline.co.uk/ifaonline/news/1349455/average-buyer-age-reaches-34
Also home owners are under increasing bombardment of unconstitutional property taxes (not apportioned), unconstitional real estate excise tax (can only be applied on corporations), unconstitutional federal "income" taxes (16th Amendment was never ratified by the necessary 3/4 and it was only meant for corporation profit and gain NOT wages which are private property), unconstitutional encroachment by the developers and the police state through eminent domain, dealt the death blow with the usurious interest rates and last but NOT least the dilution of our rightful alloidial free hold title to fee simple equivalent to tenant of the property vs owner.
Usury (in the original sense of any interest) was at times denounced by a number of religious leaders and philosophers in the ancient world, including Plato, Aristotle, Cato, Cicero, Seneca, Plutarch, Aquinas, Muhammad, Moses, Philo and Gautama Budda. http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Usury
I am a retired Boeing engineering living in Washington State and have spent the last 5 years researching why we have lost our property rights which lead to find that we have lost ALL our unalienable rights which lead me to put up my findings on this web site FYI.
www.freedomforallseasons.org
What has been extorted from the sovereign and free natural born Americans is truly unbelievable.
Jack Venrick
Enumclaw, Washington