Affordability and down payment top challenges for millennials

While millennials were the largest group of home buyers in the past 12 months, many had problems with affordability and the down payment.

A significant number of millennials that were able to purchase a home, 37%, went over their planned budget; for all buyers, 29% exceeded their price range, according to the Zillow Group Report on Consumer Housing Trends 2017.

Because of increased competition for a limited supply of homes, 53% of millennials made multiple offers in an attempt to buy their first house.

By age group, those between 18 and 37 made up 42% that purchased a home in the last 12 months, while 29% were Generation Xers, 25% were baby boomers and 4% were 73 or older.

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Only 39% of millennials were able to make a 20% down payment, while 21% made a down payment of 5% or less.

Friends and family members helped 29% of millennial buyers with the down payment.

More than six in 10 millennials (62%) in the market to purchase a home were at the same time were considering moving to another rental property in case their search failed.

"Young buyers often start their careers in fast-growing cities in which the market is particularly tough — and they're trying to save for a down payment while making record-high rent payments," said Zillow Chief Economist Svenja Gudell in a press release.

"Whether it's searching for a rental as a Plan B, looking outside their preferred neighborhood, or cobbling together a down payment from multiple sources, these buyers are willing to try every trick in the book in order to find a place to call home."

Finding a home in their desired price range was a leading challenge cited by 49% of millennials, along with finding a home in their desired location and finding a home with the desired amenities, each at 45%.

Determining the best mortgage product was cited by 41% of millennials (compared with 32% of all respondents), while going through underwriting was considered a top challenge by 39% (26% for all respondents) and qualifying for a mortgage by 33% (25% of all respondents).

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