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Survey: Many people value homeownership over other milestones but face affordability hurdles

Buying a home remains a major part of the American dream but a new nationwide survey shows that for many, the dream is still out of reach.

This latest Bankrate survey reveals about 74 percent of people say owning a home is very important. Those who responded say they value homeownership over other milestone like a successful career, being able to retire and have kids.

For this report, Bankrate talked with more than 2,500 people who either already owned a house or wanted to purchase one in the future.

It finds more than 70 percent of aspiring homeowners can’t afford one because of financial hurdles.

This includes not earning enough income, expensive home prices and the inability to pay a down payment and closing costs.

The report also shows some people are willing to make sacrifices to find more affordable housing such as moving out of state or buying a fixer upper property.

“What was particularly interesting is that this was more likely to be seen among younger. As the millennials, they also had a higher incidence of citing affordability as an obstacle. So, there’s a recognition of affordability being an issue to homeownership, but also a willingness to do something about,” said Greg McBride, Chief Financial Analyst at Bankrate.

Financial experts say buying a home isn’t impossible, but it may take another year of renting to boost your savings.

“I think important for would be homebuyers and first-time buyers to recognize that the true cost of ownership goes beyond just that monthly mortgage payment. There are a lot of other fairly significant and unpredictable costs that come with it,” said McBride.

The survey shows some people had regrets after buying a home. Those include buying something too small and overpaying for the property.

“We did see nearly half of homeowners 45% said that they had some regrets about the process and the regret wasn’t so much. ‘I wish I hadn’t done this.’ It was more about the surprise factor,” said McBride. “It was the fact that maintenance and other hidden costs were much more than expected. But that was a wakeup call.”