By Michele Lerner / The Washington Post
While 89 percent of millennial renters say they plan to buy a home someday, just 4 percent expect to buy in 2019 and 30 percent say they will wait at least five years, according to a new survey by Apartment List, a rental property database.
For most of the millennials in the survey, affordability is the biggest obstacle for their purchase, cited by 72 percent. While cash needs are the paramount obstacle, 38 percent of millennials say they have bad credit and 29 percent say the monthly payments for a home are an obstacle.
Another 62 percent specifically mention the lack of money for a down payment. Just 11 percent have saved $10,000 or more for a home and 48 percent have zero down payment savings.
Many millennials still assume they need a 20 percent down payment to buy a home, but multiple loan programs are available with as little as 3 or 3.5 percent required as a down payment. Some loan programs such as the VA loan program and the USDA Rural Development loans require zero down payment. Homeownership programs that provide assistance with down payment and closing cost funds can be found at Downpaymentresource.com .
Some millennials anticipate receiving family help for their down payment, but the expected assistance is disproportionately helpful to renters who earn the most money. According to the Apartment List’s survey, millennial renters who expect to receive assistance with a down payment and earn more than $100,000 per year expect to receive $51,172 on average. This is more than 10 times the average expected assistance of $4,358 for those making less than $25,000.
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