Smart Home Technology, Home Offices Important to First-Time Buyers

Despite the competitive market, for those first-time buyers searching for their starter home, they are not letting a little competition get in the way of what they want in their house.

According to a survey from Rocket Homes, the top features wanted by first-time buyers are smart home technology, said 70%, followed by subway tile at 65% and a designated home office, also at 65%. First-time millennial buyers are more likely to want a garden, smart home technology and a main bedroom with a walk-in closet, while Generation X is seeking a garden, hardwood floors and a kitchen island in their starter home.

For some first-time buyers, buying a starter home is a no-brainer. It helps them ease into homeownership, said 42%, while 37% said they want to try a new location. Thirty-five percent said they can only afford a starter home, while another 35% said buying a starter home is cheaper than renting. Nearly one-third (31%) said they are waiting to have children before buying a bigger home.

Seventy-two percent of homeowners said their first home was a starter home, and 68% spent less than 10 years in it. It’s obvious that millennials have paid the most for their starter homes compared to other generations, but the amount they spent may surprise you. The average cost for a starter home across generations was $131,500, but millennials reported spending $167,500, compared to Generation X, who spent $124,900 and baby boomers who spent $85,000.

Surprisingly, millennials were younger than both baby boomers and Generation X when they first desired homeownership and when they first became homeowners. Millennials reported being 25 when they first started wanting to own a home, and purchasing at 27 years old, compared to Generation X who felt the pull at age 27 and bought at 30 and baby boomers who wanted to buy at 26, but bought at 30. The median age people believe they will purchase their first home is 30.