Young Professionals Crying Out for Their Type of Housing Everywhere.
Coming of age now includes real estate
People 25 and younger bought 501,000 homes nationally last year.
By Nicole Tsong
THE SEATTLE TIMES
Saturday, July 01, 2006
Besides college graduation, their first "real" job and their first new car, young single adults are adding another common milestone to their list: buying a home.
More adults under 30 are entering the real estate market, and many are doing it at ages uncommon a decade ago. And buyers are getting still younger.
In 1995, people 25 and younger bought 172,000 homes nationally, said Walter Molony, spokesman for the National Association of Realtors. In 2005, that number jumped to 501,000.
"The children of the baby boom generation — approximately 75 million (nationally) born between 1982 and 1995 — that generation is just entering the years in which people buy a first home," Molony said.
"That's a strong fundamental factor for the next decade."
Though sales prices for Central Texas real estate are heading up — the median price for condominiums was $145,500 in May, up 2 percent from last year — it's also more attractive than ever for young singles to buy, with cheaper conversions of apartments to condos, creative financing options and slick marketing campaigns aimed at them.
At the Pedernales Lofts in East Austin, prices range from $174,000 to $249,900, said Gregg Bell, a financial analyst with Pauly Presley Realty. In South Austin, units in the second phase of the Bel Air lofts on South Congress Avenue are going for $193,000 to $337,000, said Monica Stone, director of marketing for Interurban Development LLC.
Yet both developments are attracting young buyers, who are a big factor in driving up demand for the units.
There also is fear among young adults — and their parents — that they won't be able to afford real estate in the future.
"There seems to be a lot more peer pressure, more parental pressure to buy at a younger age," said Warren Ballard, vice president of Williams Marketing in Seattle, which sells new condos and conversions. "The attitude really has changed."
But just because more young adults are buying doesn't mean the purchase is easy.
Young buyers are making major compromises and using creative financing to buy their first homes — including recruiting roommates or siblings, borrowing from parents, sacrificing space and living in less desirable neighborhoods.
Dawn Wiggin, 27, decided she was ready to buy a home only weeks before she signed the paperwork for a condo in NoMa Ballard in Seattle.
When she signed the final papers, she was so happy she cried.
But the 475-square-foot condo, priced in the low $200s, will be tough financially. The mortgage is $700 more per month than the one-bedroom apartment she's renting until her condo is finished this fall.
"It's going to be a challenge," Wiggin, a program manager, acknowledged. "I'll be paying a lot more, but it'll be fine. It'll be a great investment."
Matt Parker, 27, and his 24-year-old brother, Sean, decided to combine resources and buy a 900-square-foot home together. That way they could invest in a nicer house and still live with a roommate they trusted.
Matt Parker, a real estate agent, can reel off several reasons to buy young — among them: When you rent, "you're just making rich people richer."
Taylor Halverson, 26, bought at a time when many young adults don't even know which career they're headed for.
He bought his 580-square-foot loft two years ago with money he had saved. With a steady job, he saw the purchase as an investment.
"You're not paying money for nothing, i.e. rent," Halverson said. "At the same time, you're investing in something that gives you a reasonable return."
His mortgage (about $200,000) has forced him to cut back on little expenses, such as picking up breakfast on the way to work and buying lunch. Those costs add up, he said.
Though Halverson was among the first of his friends to buy a place, he said he didn't feel any pressure.
Still, when asked what prompted him to buy at such a young age, he responded:
"Is 25 young?"
Want to buy a home?
Here are some Web sites to help you decide whether you can afford to buy:
•HUD Home buying site: www.hud.gov/buying/index.cfm
•Bankrate mortgage information and calculators: www.bankrate.com
Coming of age now includes real estate
People 25 and younger bought 501,000 homes nationally last year.
By Nicole Tsong
THE SEATTLE TIMES
Saturday, July 01, 2006
Besides college graduation, their first "real" job and their first new car, young single adults are adding another common milestone to their list: buying a home.
More adults under 30 are entering the real estate market, and many are doing it at ages uncommon a decade ago. And buyers are getting still younger.
In 1995, people 25 and younger bought 172,000 homes nationally, said Walter Molony, spokesman for the National Association of Realtors. In 2005, that number jumped to 501,000.
"The children of the baby boom generation — approximately 75 million (nationally) born between 1982 and 1995 — that generation is just entering the years in which people buy a first home," Molony said.
"That's a strong fundamental factor for the next decade."
Though sales prices for Central Texas real estate are heading up — the median price for condominiums was $145,500 in May, up 2 percent from last year — it's also more attractive than ever for young singles to buy, with cheaper conversions of apartments to condos, creative financing options and slick marketing campaigns aimed at them.
At the Pedernales Lofts in East Austin, prices range from $174,000 to $249,900, said Gregg Bell, a financial analyst with Pauly Presley Realty. In South Austin, units in the second phase of the Bel Air lofts on South Congress Avenue are going for $193,000 to $337,000, said Monica Stone, director of marketing for Interurban Development LLC.
Yet both developments are attracting young buyers, who are a big factor in driving up demand for the units.
There also is fear among young adults — and their parents — that they won't be able to afford real estate in the future.
"There seems to be a lot more peer pressure, more parental pressure to buy at a younger age," said Warren Ballard, vice president of Williams Marketing in Seattle, which sells new condos and conversions. "The attitude really has changed."
But just because more young adults are buying doesn't mean the purchase is easy.
Young buyers are making major compromises and using creative financing to buy their first homes — including recruiting roommates or siblings, borrowing from parents, sacrificing space and living in less desirable neighborhoods.
Dawn Wiggin, 27, decided she was ready to buy a home only weeks before she signed the paperwork for a condo in NoMa Ballard in Seattle.
When she signed the final papers, she was so happy she cried.
But the 475-square-foot condo, priced in the low $200s, will be tough financially. The mortgage is $700 more per month than the one-bedroom apartment she's renting until her condo is finished this fall.
"It's going to be a challenge," Wiggin, a program manager, acknowledged. "I'll be paying a lot more, but it'll be fine. It'll be a great investment."
Matt Parker, 27, and his 24-year-old brother, Sean, decided to combine resources and buy a 900-square-foot home together. That way they could invest in a nicer house and still live with a roommate they trusted.
Matt Parker, a real estate agent, can reel off several reasons to buy young — among them: When you rent, "you're just making rich people richer."
Taylor Halverson, 26, bought at a time when many young adults don't even know which career they're headed for.
He bought his 580-square-foot loft two years ago with money he had saved. With a steady job, he saw the purchase as an investment.
"You're not paying money for nothing, i.e. rent," Halverson said. "At the same time, you're investing in something that gives you a reasonable return."
His mortgage (about $200,000) has forced him to cut back on little expenses, such as picking up breakfast on the way to work and buying lunch. Those costs add up, he said.
Though Halverson was among the first of his friends to buy a place, he said he didn't feel any pressure.
Still, when asked what prompted him to buy at such a young age, he responded:
"Is 25 young?"
Want to buy a home?
Here are some Web sites to help you decide whether you can afford to buy:
•HUD Home buying site: www.hud.gov/buying/index.cfm
•Bankrate mortgage information and calculators: www.bankrate.com
posted by Charleston West Virginia Economic Development
@ 9:02 AM
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