Challenging market conditions are driving many to explore family support and proximity into their purchasing plans.

Many potential homebuyers facing affordability challenges are turning their parents and extended family into co-buyers or roommates in order to find a place they can all call home, according to a recent survey from Realtor.com and Censuswide. In addition, the report showed that recent return-to-office requirements and elevated childcare costs may also be driving home shoppers to factor family proximity and support into their purchasing plans. Of those surveyed who are planning to buy a home within the next 12 months, roughly 51% of respondents are potentially looking to their parents to help them prepare for buying a home, with nearly one third (29%) saying they've already moved in with their parents to help save money in preparation for buying a home and another quarter (22%) saying they would consider doing so.

Similarly, one third (32%) of respondents are even cohabitating with other family members to help save enough money to buy a home, including siblings, aunts and uncles, and cousins, and another 24% would consider doing so. "The challenging market conditions this year are changing buyer behavior in significant ways, driving many more people to explore alternative living situations they may not have considered in the past," said Danielle Hale, Chief Economist at Realtor.com. "Mortgage rates hovering at or near 7% have eroded buyers' purchasing power at a time when the consistently low number of homes for sale has kept housing markets surprisingly competitive." In addition to the short-term savings that living with family provides, many are planning to stay close to family even after they've saved up by purchasing a home near their relatives. Some 28% of respondents who are planning to buy a home in the next year are doing so in part to be closer to their family.

Source: DSNews