Here’s What Buyers Say Are the Biggest Challenges to New Home Ownership

Buying a home is an exciting endeavor. But, it isn’t without its challenges. If you’re thinking about making a new home purchase, whether this is your first home or your fifth, you may be wondering what buyers are saying about the process. What are the obstacles they found most difficult to get through? 

According to the National Association of REALTORS®  2021 Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends report, more than half of home buyers (53 percent) pointed to finding the right property when asked what they considered the most difficult step of the home buying process. It greatly dominated the concerns listed by these new homeowners. 

Considering the competitive marketplace, it isn’t surprising that over half of buyers found finding the right home the biggest challenge to their home purchase. The younger the homebuyer’s age, the greater the number who felt finding the right home was the hardest part of buying, with 58% of buyers age 22 to 30 pointing to purchasing “the one” as their biggest challenge. 

For some, that may be due to their selection criteria–perhaps they couldn’t find that renovated kitchen or large yard. But for many, the ability to find the right home may have been made more difficult due to competing buyers. This could explain why younger buyers had even more difficulty getting an accepted offer on the right home, as they tend to have less spending power. 

Some of the other steps homebuyers believed to be the most difficult part of the home buying process included:

• Completing all the necessary paperwork (17%)
• Feeling as though they didn’t have a clear understanding of the process (15%) 
• Saving an adequate amount for a down payment (11%)

While the majority of buyers were able to identify what they saw as challenges or difficulty in buying a home, that wasn’t the case for every homebuyers. In about one-fifth of the cases, the homebuyer happily went through the process without a hitch.

The road to new homeownership can sometimes be a bit bumpy. Having a knowledgeable professional by your side can ensure you receive expert guidance all along the way.