43% of Recent Home Buyers Struggle to Make Mortgage Payments

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May 14, 2024, 08:42 ET

More than one-third of 2023 and 2024 home buyers (37%) purchased homes that exceeded their intended budget.

ST. LOUIS, May 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Since buying, 44% of new homeowners have taken on extra debt to maintain their lifestyle, and 43% have struggled to make mortgage payments on time, according to a new survey from Clever Real Estate, a St. Louis-based real estate company.

About 38% of 2023 and 2024 home buyers admit they overpaid for their home, and 23% regret overspending. Half of respondents (50%) even accepted a higher interest rate than planned to secure a mortgage.

What regrets do you have about your home buying experience?

What were your home-buying priorities, and did you compromise them to own a home?

Nearly half of recent home buyers (47%) say they feel in over their heads financially since purchasing their home. Additionally, 77% of prospective home buyers have already started saving for a down payment, but 59% say it has made them feel financially overwhelmed.

An overwhelming majority of buyers (85%) compromised on their priorities when purchasing a home. More than one-third (37%) bought homes that exceeded their budget — making price the most-compromised priority.

More than half of Americans (60%) who bought homes in 2023 or 2024 state that their finances have not improved since purchasing a home.

Furthermore, 82% expressed at least one regret about the home-buying process, with excessive maintenance needs (28%) being the most common regret, with 35% attributing it to sellers' lack of transparency.

However, among future buyers, cosmetic improvements take precedence over structural ones. While 33% prioritize an updated kitchen, bathroom, and lighting, only 24% prioritize a strong foundation.

In a separate survey, Clever found that a whopping 94% of home sellers support a new commission structure that would require the buyer to pay their own agent's commission. However, in this new survey, that percentage drops to 61% among buyers, half (50%) of whom would consider forgoing an agent entirely due to commission changes.

If they had to pay their agent, buyers say they'd lower their home-buying budget by an average of $13,167.

The overall experience of buying a home proved to be more stressful than anticipated for a majority (52%) of respondents.

Read the full report at: https://listwithclever.com/research/homebuyer-sentiment/

About Clever Real Estate

Clever Real Estate is a technology company that produces educational real estate content reaching over 10 million readers annually, and its nationwide agent matching service has a 5.0-star Trustpilot rating across 2,300+ customer reviews. Since launching in 2017, Clever has reached $8.5 billion in real estate sold, matched 100,000+ customers with realtors, and saved consumers over $160 million on commission fees. Clever's network spans 19,000 agents across all 50 states.

Please contact Nicole Lehman at [email protected] with any questions or to arrange an interview.

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CONTACT:
Nicole Lehman
Clever Real Estate
[email protected]
724-719-0406

SOURCE Clever Real Estate