While the COVID-19 pandemic brought life to a standstill for most people across the country, it affected the home purchase timeline for millennials in unexpected ways. Record low mortgage rates and stay-at-home orders provided the millennial generation the ability to save money for a down payment and launched them into the purchase market. Nonetheless, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic made it more challenging to buy a home than some millennial buyers may have anticipated. Following are some effects that the COVID-19 pandemic had on millennial homebuyers:

Longer home searches  – Many millennial buyers spent longer than expected searching for homes. Due to lack of inventory and high demand, almost half of millennials surveyed by  Angi  stated that they spent six months or longer on their home searches.

Bidding wars and increased home prices  – Once buyers found homes they loved, many were forced to compete in a multiple-offer situation and pay higher than asking price to purchase the home. The same survey showed two thirds of buyers put in at least four home offers before they had an accepted offer.

Homes requiring improvements  – Low inventory led many buyers in search of turnkey homes to recalibrate and purchase homes in need of improvements to create what they were looking for. Angi reported that 56% of millennials purchased a home needing renovation while only 42.4% began their search with that intention.

To read more about the millennial buyer survey results,  click here.

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