Mom and Dad are funding new home purchases amid soaring housing costs
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More first-time homebuyers are turning to their parents to help pay for their starter homes.
Why it matters: As housing costs soar, 26% of younger people who recently bought homes say they used family cash for down payments, according to Redfin research.
- That's up from 23% last year and 18% in 2019.
By the numbers: The median down payment on a metro Richmond home is now $35,941, Realtor.com data shows.
- That's more than double the $15,731 locals put down on a house in 2021.
- Nationally, the median down payment is $30,397.
The big picture: Without family help, steep housing prices and elevated mortgage rates are pushing homeownership out of reach for many.
- In Richmond, just 11.3% of homeowners are under 35 years old, according to the latest census data.
- That's higher than 10.7% of Gen Z and younger Millennials who are homeowners nationally, but it still means that fewer than 30% of Richmond homeowners are 44 or younger.
It's a trend nationwide. U.S. homebuyers are now the oldest on record, per a recent report from the National Association of Realtors.
- The median age of first-time buyers reached 38 this year, up from 35 last year, and marks a new high in NAR data from 1981.
- The median age of repeat home purchasers rose to 61 from 58 last year.
The latest: Some couples looking to purchase homes are asking loved ones for cash instead of traditional baby or wedding gifts.
Reality check: Those "who don't have family money are often shut out of homeownership," Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather said in a research report.
- In time, this could widen the homeownership gap between Black and white families, an Urban Institute analysis suggests.
What's next: President-elect Trump's proposals to blunt the high cost of housing include easing construction regulations and making more federal land available for development.
- But experts say there is no quick fix for the challenges plaguing the home market.