Millennials put off home buying longer than earlier generations

The reality experienced by millennials (those born between 1981 and 2000) is markedly different from that experienced by the baby boomers and Generation Xers who came before them.

Millennials are pursuing more education (and thus accumulating more debt) and are also marrying later, according to a Pew Research Center report. So it is not surprising to note they also tend to invest in homes later in life.

Many in their 20s are reluctant to buy a house because they are paying off student loans, investing in pricey advanced degrees at the urging of their employers and/or are concerned their employer might decide to transfer them. Others still may not want a house because they aren't yet in a committed relationship.

Consequently, today's first-time homebuyers are generally in their early to mid 30s.

Sebastian and Aida Steinle, for instance, have purchased a townhouse at Lexington Hills in Palatine and expect to move in there with their infant daughter in late June.

Sebastian is a German citizen who moved here in 2011 to work at Bosch Tool Corp.'s Mount Prospect facility. That is where he met Aida. Prior to purchasing, the couple rented a condominium in downtown Palatine and fell in love with the community.

“We wanted to start a family and all of the rental spaces that we saw were too small, so we decided to look at homes and consider a purchase,” Aida said. “My mom is a real estate agent and she kept telling us that now is the time to buy because of the low interest rates. Sebastian's boss was telling him the same thing.”

Sebastian agrees the timing was right.

“We are in our early 30s, married and now have a baby,” Sebastian said. “To me, buying a home was natural — the next logical step and phase of life. I am very conservative and that is how I was raised, but the current market helped us to make the decision. Besides, I like America and the American culture.”

Because the Steinles both work in Mount Prospect, they wanted to stay within a 20-minute drive of there. “So we looked at six or seven resale homes in Palatine and Deer Park,” Aida said, “but most of them needed a lot of work.

“Sebastian is more realistic than me. By that time I was already pregnant and he convinced me that we didn't have the time to do a lot of work on a house and we also wouldn't want to bring a newborn home to a construction zone,” she said.

So they walked into the Lexington Hills sales office and fell in love with a three-bedroom, 3½-bath frame and brick townhouse with a two-car garage. Units in the community begin at $349,990.

“After the salesperson spent over four hours with us, letting us pick everything we wanted and coming up with our exact price, we decided to buy. It was exciting to pick out all of our own features and to know we were getting a townhouse that was built for our family,” Aida said “We didn't have to compromise on what we wanted.”

Over the months of construction, the Steinles said everyone on the Lexington team was very courteous and accommodating, allowing them to take their families on tours of their model, even after office hours, and the construction crew is working extra hard to make sure they can move in before Aida's maternity leave is over.

“We have so many people at Lexington who have guided us through the process,” Sebastian said. “Buying a home in the United States is so much easier than buying in Germany. There you have to buy your own lot and then bring in an architect and builder and go from scratch. It is very complicated and time-consuming. It was surprised at how easily and quickly we got our mortgage and the house was built here.”

So now the Steinles say they aren't losing money to rent every month and even if they are transferred to Germany, the townhouse will have been a good investment because interest rates are so low.

Dave and Katie Koch moved into their first home last July at Ryan Homes' Shorewood Towne Center community in Shorewood. She is a 33-year-old dialysis technician for Davita in Joliet and he is a 35-year-old corrections officer at the Cook County Jail.

Prior to purchasing their four-bedroom, four-bath home with a finished basement and a two-car garage, the Kochs had rented a townhouse for two years in a community virtually across the street from Shorewood Towne Center.

“My dad had been telling me it is worthless to rent. It is just throwing your money away,” Dave Koch said. “On the other hand, buying a home is making an investment and while investments have ups and downs, they are still the best option.”

So the Kochs started looking at homes.

“We wanted to take advantage of the good interest rates and also knew that it is a buyer's market right now. In addition, I had been getting a lot of overtime, so I was able to save up for a down payment,” he said.

“We were strictly interested in new construction. Both of my brothers have new homes and they have worked out well for them, so that seemed to be the thing to do,” Koch said.

The Kochs didn't expect to be able to afford a new home in Shorewood, so they first looked at new construction in Minooka and Joliet But then, even before any homes were built at Shorewood Towne Center, they went over to talk to a Ryan Homes salesperson, looked at the floor plans and were pleasantly surprised by the prices, which begin in the upper $260,000s.

“The Ryan Homes staff was awesome. They walked us through the whole sales and selection process with the crazy amount of possible upgrades and then the project manager took us on multiple walk-throughs and promptly took care of any little problem we had,” Koch said. “Our whole experience with Ryan Homes was excellent.”

For more information about Lexington Homes, visit www.lexingtonchicago.com. To learn more about Ryan Homes, visit www.ryanhomes.com.