The survey also found that three in five (61%) Americans who have never purchased a home have given up all hopes that they will ever be able to afford one.
“There is no denying how difficult it’s become to purchase a home in America today, especially for first-time buyers,” Credit Karma general manager for home and mortgage Aniva Hinduja told USA Today. “When a majority of potential homebuyers are wishing for a recession so they can afford a mortgage, you know the situation is dire.”
Among homeowners who bought in the past year, almost half (46%) admitted they found it difficult to pay their monthly mortgage payments due to high interest rates. Four in five (84%) said they were forced to make some sacrifices just so they could purchase their home, and 3% said they ended up spending more for their home than they budgeted.
Among the sacrifices recent homebuyers remembered making were:
- Limited or suspended spending on non-necessities – 25%
- Taking on another job for extra income – 22%
- Gave up certain desired home features (e.g. fenced yard, finished basement) – 20%
- Bought a smaller home than they preferred – 23%
- Put previously planned life events on hold – 22%
- Bought outside their ideal home location – 19%
Among those who recently purchased a home – not necessarily within the last year – 36% had to tap into their savings to afford it, 37% used money from another home sale, 19% used money given to them by their family, and 7% took an adjustable-rate mortgage. Nine per cent (9%) did a mortgage-rate buy-down.
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