The real estate market has been slow in recovering from the bubble burst, and one reason for this is because one segment of society has been rather slow to jump back into home ownership: millennials. But is it time now for millennials to start buying Florida real estate?
Fear of another bust
One reason millennials have been staying out of the real estate buying market is fear. They saw what happened to their parents and it had many shying away. Another is the ability to be mobile for employment. So many have been renting. The problem with that now is the rental market is pricing them out. Apartment and home rents are rising. Once having a mortgage becomes more affordable than renting, the logical conclusion for many will be to buy.
Confidence in the housing market
Another reason that will draw them in is a rising confidence in the housing market. It’s been 8 years since the crash and while the market has been slow to recover, it is recovering. So much so that some places have moved from buyers markets to sellers markets. Florida isn’t quite there yet, but it’s strengthening.
Supply of homes will grow as well
Their parents, baby boomers and the older end of Generation X are now in empty nest syndrome and will sell their houses to downsize. On top of that mortgage rates are and have remained low, below 5%. Even though experts say rates will rise, the chance that a 30 year fixed rate mortgage will go above 5% is extremely low. Credit requirements to get those mortgages are relaxing a bit as well.
Florida has plenty of homes to be purchased and millennials may just be the ones to buy them.