While most of his peers in Palm Beach County, Fla., were worrying about their tans and golf games this summer, Randy Wolner, 26, was mulling adjustable mortgage rates and bed-to-bathroom ratios.
The software analyst purchased a townhouse in September, joining the growing number of unmarried twentysomethings dumping apartment leases in favor of homeownership. Wooed by historically low interest rates and government loan programs friendly to those with little or no down payment, Generation Y is tackling the real-estate market.
“When you rent, all you have left to show for it at the end are rent receipts,” Wolner says.
Ownership among people in their early 20s has jumped nearly 20 percent during the past two years, according to the National Association of Realtors, as 343,000 people under age 25 purchased homes in 2003. And it’s doubled since 1995, when 172,000 bought homes.
Gen Y-ers also are sloughing off their parents’ notion that homeownership is largely reserved for married couples.
“I knew I wasn’t getting married anytime soon,” Wolner says, “so I wanted to make the investment on my own.”
In fact, says real-estate agent David Langston, the bulk of his business is first-time buyers under 35. He recently helped a 19-year-old purchase a house–his youngest client ever.
“Some people just mature faster than others and realize the benefit of homeownership,” Langston says.
Internet usage also is driving the trend. In the past year, the largest group of consumers surfing the Web for listings and mortgage rates, 36 percent, were people ages 25 to 34, according to Robert Carl, spokesman for realtor.com.
Seth Derevensky, 25, did nearly all of his research online before purchasing a three-bedroom, 2 1/2-bathroom townhouse.
But owning a home isn’t always easy.
When the roof leaks, a landlord isn’t coming to fix it. Buyer’s remorse can hit hard.
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“On the way home, that first day with the keys, I thought, ‘What have I done?’ ” Derevensky says. “I almost had a heart attack.”
Homeownership has changed Wolner’s priorities too.
“When I get extra cash, I want to put it in the house,” he says. “I’m not looking to blow it on beer.”
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Pimpin’ pads
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Edited by Cara DiPasquale ([email protected]) and Victoria Rodriguez ([email protected])