Owning a Home More Important Than Marriage to Some People

(STATE WIDE) – You might equate owning a house with financial success. That may be why home ownership in Indiana is at 70 percent. A new survey says seven in ten Americans would give up something to save for a down payment, for the possibility of owning a home.

“In Indiana home ownership has been a big deal for a long time,” said Todd Johnson, Wells Fargo’s Home Mortgage Retail Division Manager for the Midwest.

The national home ownership rate is 64 percent.

“Home ownership means things they can’t have in non-home ownership, things like connecting themselves to the community, schools, family, and financial health and success,” said Johnson.

He said many people consider owning a home as a mark of success, even more than having children or getting married.

The survey said 37 percent of millennials in Indianapolis own homes. Johnson said that’s significant because it’s a higher rate than what it is nationally.

“Millenials typically purchase their first home when they’re about 33 years old, and a lot of people think that’s quite a bit different than it was in the past. In reality, if you go back about 20 years, that’s only a difference by about one year.”

He said people are buying homes, despite obstacles like student loan debt. The high home ownership rate is also helping bust several myths.

One is that you can’t get a home without a 10 to 20 percent down payment. Johnson said some FHA loans let you buy with a little as three percent down, and some VA loans let people who have served n the military buy houses with nothing down.

He also said parts of Indiana qualify for rural development loans.

Share: