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More Mortgages are Smaller Mortgages: 2019 Trends for Young Homeowners

More Mortgages are Smaller Mortgages: 2019 Trends for Young Homeowners

02.21.19

By Martin S. Frenkel and Corinne S. Rockoff 

Many young home-buyers are opting for so-called “starter homes” in efforts to get into the market early and on a budget. With high levels of student loans and other debt, millennials are starting families later and waiting longer until they need as much space in their homes as their parents may have needed at the same age. Other young people are choosing not to have children at all, and are in the market for small homes whether they’re choosing a first home or not. That means that young buyers across the board are hopping into smaller homes, and with experts predicting1 that the United States will have 40 million millennial households by 2025, this is likely to have a major market impact.

The average home in the United States is getting smaller and smaller, and in early 2018 the average home was 2,436 square feet2, down from 2,660 in 20173. In a recent survey4, 47% of people who live in homes that they describe as smaller than average say that they bought a small home because they weren’t able to afford anything larger. Thirty-eight (38%) of people in small homes in that survey also said that they’re staying in their current home because they can’t afford somewhere larger. Respondents in these small homes focused on quality over square footage, with many saying that they valued their homes’ natural light, outdoor space, or other features.

As the market worries about a future possible contraction, the message for lenders, builders, and spenders may turn out to be that smaller will be bigger in 2019.

1 http://jchs.harvard.edu/research-areas/housing-markets-conditions
2 http://eyeonhousing.org/2018/05/single-family-home-size-increases-at-the-start-of-2018/
3 https://www.statista.com/statistics/529371/floor-area-size-new-single-family-homes-usa/
4 https://www.forbes.com/sites/houzz/2017/12/19/the-pros-and-cons-of-small-houses-according-to-new-houzz-survey/#76061112c3dc


Corinne S. Rockoff

Corinne S. Rockoff
Associate and member of the firm’s Financial Services and Real Property Litigation Group.
Phone: (248) 827-1881
Fax: (248) 827-1882
crockoff@maddinhauser.com

Martin S. Frenkel

Martin S. Frenkel
Co-Chair of the Financial Services and Real Property Litigation Group, experienced business litigator, shareholder and executive committee member.
Phone: (248) 827-1891
Fax: (248) 359-6141
mfrenkel@maddinhauser.com