The recent housing downturn discouraged millions of people from entering the home buying market. They were more confident in renting than buying. However, as the home market stabilizes more renters are now considering becoming buyers. As many as 5.2 million renters plan to buy their first homes this year, with many more renters considering following these individuals’ leads soon. This uptick in homeownership hopefulness is up 25 percent from just a year ago.
As eager as many people are to buy their first homes this year, they still may face some obstacles. People must still qualify for a mortgage, something that may be difficult if they have low credit scores, low incomes, not enough money for a down payment, or other financial hurdles. Likewise, they must find housing that fits in their budgets. With the economy rebounding, home prices continue to increase. People must time their house hunting accordingly so that the demand for housing matches the budgets that they have set aside for their purchases.
Further, studies show that this 25 percent in homeowership confidence occurs in major metro areas across the country. Some of the cities in which people stated their hope to buy a home include San Jose, California, Miami, San Francisco, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Diego, Washington, D.C., Denver, Phoenix, and Seattle. In these cities, rental prices are soaring, making the idea of buying a house attractive to people who have been renting all the years, but now discover that they could save money by purchasing a home.
