Straight to the American Dream Home: Millennials Skip Starter Homes

A recent analysis from Zillow confirms that the median age for today’s home buyer is 36 and that Millennials make up 42 percent of people buying homes. Zillow also offers suggestions on why Millennials are taking longer to buy their first home:

• Jobs and Wages – The economy is recovering at a slow pace, making wages stagnant while the cost of living continues to increase.
• Cost of Rent – Rental costs are rising at approximately twice the rate of wage growth, meaning renters are spending a growing percentage of their income on housing costs.
• Home Inventory and Prices – Zillow found that first-time home buyers are paying a median price of $140,238 for their first home, which is 2.6 times their median income. The price increases have outpaced the wage increases for most Millennials, resulting in a longer period to build up a down payment.
• Precautionary Measure - Millennials were just starting to evolve when the housing crisis and debt accumulation took place. Seeing these effects first-hand has made the Millennial generation understandably wary about buying a home without a stable income, with debt, or both.
• Loan Terms - Millennials are not the only ones taking caution. Lender’s and banks have also realized the risks associated with the economy.

The average home buyer is between the ages of 32 and 36. Millennials are bypassing the traditional route of buying starter homes and buying larger, forever homes where they can raise families and grow old,” said President of Faber Builders, Bernie Iacovangelo. Starter homes average between $150,000 to $250,000, while trade-up homes average in the high $300,000s.

“There are many perks to spending a little more now to buy a new construction home and customize every detail to make it exactly what you want so that you are happy living there from age 30 to age 60,” stated Iacovangelo.

Buying a forever home and acquiring a 30-year mortgage at the ripe age of 30, means that your home will be paid off by retirement age. Buying your dream home in the beginning allows you to enjoy your home throughout the years while it appreciates significantly over time, meaning you to develop equity in time as well.

Homes constructed by Faber Builders are both affordable and customizable to fit the forever-needs of every home buyer. New homes in our Regency Park community in Greece start in the high $180,000s and feature diverse floor plans for everyone, whether you’re a Millennial, baby boomer or empty nester. In Creek House Village, also in Greece, the starting prices are in the high $170,000s where our poplar Macon floor plan resides with a large family room, dining space and kitchen on the main level, as well as three bedrooms on the second floor.

Find even more home plans with open living spaces and customizable features at Queens Park in Henrietta, with prices from the mid-$200,000s, or Rose Hill Estates in Chili, where new homes are priced from the $220,000s.

These communities, along with our other neighborhoods offer ultimate personalization for you’re a new forever home. To view our available homes, floor plans and more, visit www.faberbuilders.com.