It is no secret that buying a home is a more difficult prospect for working adults than it has ever been before, thanks to the high cost of property comparative to earnings. This only seems to be getting worse, with CoreLogic’s House Price Index showing the highest rate of inflation in the year from March 2021 to March 22 since the index was first created in the mid-1970s, at 21%. With the Consumer Price index, which tracks the cost of living, rising by 9% — the highest increase since 1981 — being able to afford to buy, keep and maintain a home is a scary prospect for a lot of first-time buyers.
A recent survey by US News which asked 2000 new homeowners who bought property in 2021 or 2022 about their biggest worries and sources of stress reveals a lot. While making a big investment and moving house have always been considered stressful things to do, some of the respondents’ concerns are certainly distinct to the current state of the market and other 21st century issues like climate change. Here are some of the findings:
Value and Resale
Buying a property was, for generations, considered one of the best investments people could make. However, these days, new homeowners are concerned both about their property losing value, and about whether they’ll even be able to sell it. 45% of those surveyed fear a decline in value, and 39% worry about having trouble reselling their home. With fewer people able to buy property at all, and fewer homeowners able to scale ‘the property ladder’ and instead staying in the first home they could afford for as long as it suits their needs, both of these are genuine concerns.
People now have to do everything they can to make a property appealing to get a buyer, from costly home improvements to things like using an ozone generator to remove any odors, as it is so competitive that even a small detail can make a difference.
Cost of Maintenance
57% of new homeowners reported being stressed about the potential for costly home repairs. While most of those who responded had home insurance, there are still many types of home repairs they’d have to pay for out of pocket, and having the money available to cover a plumbing, electrical or structural emergency was a major worry to over half of those surveyed.
Climate Change
A huge 74% of the 2000 people surveyed said that the impact of climate change on their homes, in the form of things like flooding and other natural disasters, was a source of worry. Floods and earthquakes are not covered by most general home insurance policies and need separate cover for people in areas at risk. As these events become more common, the cost of this kind of insurance and the range of affected areas will likely both increase.
It seems from these results that homeowners have more to worry about than ever, and unfortunately, these aren’t issues that are likely to go away or improve in the near future.
