Genz and millennials don't want your small starter homes want forever homes now

[Anonymous]

I'm a millennial and I don't want a big house for a number of reasons. Having rooms you never use is just silly and I don't want to have to clean unnecessary space. Plus those big houses tend to come with tiny yards and I want a big space for my kid to play in.

I also didn't buy a house at the top of what they'd lend me because I didn't want to be house poor. Much rather have a smaller house and be able to afford other things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess I see both sides, on one side some don’t like moving. But also I can see how it can come across as entitled.

The article doesn't make it sound nearly as entitled as OP seems to think it does.

Yeah, the article was much more "starter homes make less financial sense than then did a few decades ago, and so some millennials and Gen Zs are opting out" than "I want a fully renovated house in a great location NOW, and I don't want to give up lattes and avocado toast to get it" that the OP's title suggested.

But, generational conflict is clickbait, even on DCUM, so here we are.

I mean they're right. Realtor fees + transfer taxes + moving costs + title insurance= $$$. All of that can easily be 50-100k, which wipes out any gains that people used to get from buying and selling starter homes as they moved up the property ladder. DH and I bought a condo downtown when we were early 20s and then saved nonstop until we could afford our forever home at 30. There was a point when we'd easily outgrown the tiny condo and could have afforded a nice townhouse, but we kept going. We were worried we'd buy a 3 bedroom townhouse and then get stuck and not be able to afford the realtor/moving cost fees. We bought a 5 bedroom home instead and then had our 3 kids. We've renovated it to be exactly what we wanted instead of continuing to buy and sell homes.

Financially starter homes (or any home really) are only good if you can stay for 7+ years. If you only spend a few years there, the transactional costs eat up any gains.

Yep. It is very expensive to upgrade, so you are better off buying something nice from the beginning.

[Anonymous]

Do they have the money for what they want? If so huzzah to them! If not, then I guess let's just lay out all our wishes here - I want an elephant sanctuary and to be draped in rubies!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a millennial and so are most of my friends. The people I know are mostly in apartments, condos, and townhouses. I know one person in a larger house.

This is just the people you know. Around 90% of homeowners live in single family detached homes.

Not accurate for DC and its close suburbs, which is where we all (people on this forum) live.

Well if you are too snobby to live in Woodbridge or Takoma Park, that is your problem. There are plenty of affordable single family homes in the DC metro area. Not everyone can live in Kalorama.

I'm the original poster in this chain and I'm in Silver Spring. The people I know again, are mostly living in places like townhouses. The ones in SFHs are in the kind you're talking about, smaller and older. That's fine, I'm just pushing back on the assumption that people are looking for something fancy. You're doing the same thing by jumping in to assume people are trying to live in Kalorama. That's not my experience.

And, barely over half of millennials are home owners in the first place, so national statistics about all home owners as a group are irrelevant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are Gen-X immigrants. We lived in rented apartments before we bought our medium sized (3000 sq ft + 1500 basement, 5br, 3.5 bath, 2 car garage) new SFH at the bottom of the housing market. First time home owners. We wanted to afford it on one salary without breaking the bank. We have seen people buy in and buy out of our neighborhood.

Our neighbors all upgraded to even bigger homes in more expensive neighborhoods when they could sell their SFH in our neighborhood for top dollars, but we remained in the same house.

Then, people started moving in our neighborhood from more expensive neighborhoods (Bethesda), when their kids had graduated from the W schools. We remained in our same home.

Next, people have started moving to smaller homes in more rural areas and selling their home in our neighborhood. We have decided to age in place and we are making changes to our home to accomodate us - lifts and elevators etc.

This constant changing homes is very much an American phenomenon and it is exhausting. We moved into our forever home and we are pretty ok. This house is big enough for our adult children to also live with us, if they are ever in our neck of the woods.

3000 sq ft + 1500 basement, 5br, 3.5 bath, 2 car garage

This is not a medium-sized house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are millennials and bought a forever home

I'm a Millennial married to an Xer and we knew a decade ago not to buy a starter home. Why in this market would I want to pay realtor fees on upgrading when I could save that money for my kids' college tuitions? Why would I take on another mortgage when I paid off the one I have?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are Gen-X immigrants. We lived in rented apartments before we bought our medium sized (3000 sq ft + 1500 basement, 5br, 3.5 bath, 2 car garage) new SFH at the bottom of the housing market. First time home owners. We wanted to afford it on one salary without breaking the bank. We have seen people buy in and buy out of our neighborhood.

Our neighbors all upgraded to even bigger homes in more expensive neighborhoods when they could sell their SFH in our neighborhood for top dollars, but we remained in the same house.

Then, people started moving in our neighborhood from more expensive neighborhoods (Bethesda), when their kids had graduated from the W schools. We remained in our same home.

Next, people have started moving to smaller homes in more rural areas and selling their home in our neighborhood. We have decided to age in place and we are making changes to our home to accomodate us - lifts and elevators etc.

This constant changing homes is very much an American phenomenon and it is exhausting. We moved into our forever home and we are pretty ok. This house is big enough for our adult children to also live with us, if they are ever in our neck of the woods.

That’s not medium sized. That is a large house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are millennials and bought a forever home

I'm a Millennial married to an Xer and we knew a decade ago not to buy a starter home. Why in this market would I want to pay realtor fees on upgrading when I could save that money for my kids' college tuitions? Why would I take on another mortgage when I paid off the one I have?

We stayed in our starter house and saved. Easier solution.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are millennials and bought a forever home

I'm a Millennial married to an Xer and we knew a decade ago not to buy a starter home. Why in this market would I want to pay realtor fees on upgrading when I could save that money for my kids' college tuitions? Why would I take on another mortgage when I paid off the one I have?

We stayed in our starter house and saved. Easier solution.

I mean our "forever home" is a 4 br, 3 ba, 1600 sq foot home we shove our five person family into. It fits us, but it's tight.

[Anonymous]

I always love a home built in the 1950s for a large family of 4-5 kids that is 1,600 sf is now too small for a couple with one kid who don't even cook.

But more interesting how large starter homes have become.

In DC the house below is considered a starter home and is 5 bedrooms
https://www.redfin.com/MD/Potomac/8504-Buckhannon-Dr-20854/home/10507392

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I always love a home built in the 1950s for a large family of 4-5 kids that is 1,600 sf is now too small for a couple with one kid who don't even cook.

But more interesting how large starter homes have become.

In DC the house below is considered a starter home and is 5 bedrooms
https://www.redfin.com/MD/Potomac/8504-Buckhannon-Dr-20854/home/10507392

You and I both know that people had much smaller wardrobes and fewer toys back then.
- person who has a 5 person family in a 1600 sf home

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are millennials and bought a forever home

I'm a Millennial married to an Xer and we knew a decade ago not to buy a starter home. Why in this market would I want to pay realtor fees on upgrading when I could save that money for my kids' college tuitions? Why would I take on another mortgage when I paid off the one I have?

We stayed in our starter house and saved. Easier solution.

I mean our "forever home" is a 4 br, 3 ba, 1600 sq foot home we shove our five person family into. It fits us, but it's tight.

starter homes dont have four bedrooms and three baths. My house I grew up a family of six was a starter home had three bedrooms and one bath. 1,200 sf on a 40x100 plot.

Your house in that neighborhood would be called an Executive home My neighbors next block who were rich lawyers and doctors had the 1,600 sf models.

It goes to show how much home sizes have increased over last 50-80 years

[Anonymous]

Gen x here: we waited unit we could buy a forever home too. It's modest. We saved up and bought in our mid 30s, had our kids there, became empty nesters, and still live there. Moving once was enough.

Some younger people doing the same the we did doesn't seem like anything new.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I always love a home built in the 1950s for a large family of 4-5 kids that is 1,600 sf is now too small for a couple with one kid who don't even cook.

But more interesting how large starter homes have become.

In DC the house below is considered a starter home and is 5 bedrooms
https://www.redfin.com/MD/Potomac/8504-Buckhannon-Dr-20854/home/10507392

You and I both know that people had much smaller wardrobes and fewer toys back then.
- person who has a 5 person family in a 1600 sf home

Except a 5 person family would be someone with Fertility problems back then. Barely a family. My block my Mom had four kids and we had one of the smallest families. I dont care if less clothes or toys try fitting in 5 sons and two daughters into a 1,300 sf house. My neighbors the Mullens had that it was crazy. They had big families back then

[Anonymous]

We are the millennials you speak of, and have rented our entire lives with two kids, early 40s. The main reason for this are parents who did the who starter house, upgrade, upgrade thing who have completely warned us off of it. My parents say that by the time they bought and sold the house, made the required upgrades, maintained it, etc, they always came out break-even.

We plan to buy in the next few years and stay in one, non-starter house until retirement. But for now, a low-cost SFH in a great elementary school district with zero maintenance or property tax will do.