Why 2021 Was the Year of the Down Payment
✉️ Want to forward this article? Click here.
While the DC area continues to transition to a new pandemic-era status quo, the time has come once again for UrbanTurf to reflect on the state of real estate over the past year.
This week, we refresh our collective memory with a 2021 Year-in-Review series.
Although the past two years have been a dumpster fire, the pandemic created an opportunity for a few. Those few are the younger generations who were able to foray, en masse, into the housing market.
A Zillow survey conducted this year found that 83% of young adults saved money this year, and of that group, 60% planned to use that money toward a down payment on a new home. Those savings were made possible by federal Covid relief payments, deferred student loans (long cited as an obstacle to homeownership for these generations), and for nearly 3 million people, moving back in with their parents.
story continues below
loading...story continues above
Millennials are expected to contribute to an increase of 6.4 million households by 2025, and interest rates remaining near record lows have made homeownership more affordable than it was for previous generations, mitigating rising home prices. These dynamics were on full display this year.
During the first eight months of 2021, millennials accounted for 67% of first-time mortgage applications and 37% of repeat mortgage applications. Some are also predicting that the increasing wave of millennial homeownership will also help shift homeowner demographics overall: as 45% of millennials are nonwhite, it is expected that the net increase in homeowners will be predominately among nonwhite households.
Now, all these young homebuyers will have to contend with is an extremely competitive and supply-constrained market.
See other articles related to: kane county home prices
This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/why-2021-was-the-year-of-the-down-payment/19062.
Most Popular... This Week • Last 30 Days • Ever
A look at the closing costs that homebuyers pay at the closing table.... read »
3331 N Street NW sold in an off-market transaction on Thursday for nearly $12 million... read »
In this article, UrbanTurf will explore the considerations and steps involved in buyi... read »
The most expensive home to sell in the DC region in years closed on Halloween for an ... read »
Paradigm Development Company has plans in the works to build a 12-story, 110-unit con... read »
DC Real Estate Guides
Short guides to navigating the DC-area real estate market
We've collected all our helpful guides for buying, selling and renting in and around Washington, DC in one place. Start browsing below!
First-Timer Primers
Intro guides for first-time home buyers
Unique Spaces
Awesome and unusual real estate from across the DC Metro