Real Estate Marketing & Beyond
For couples the home buying process can be extremely stressful, with 64 percent of millennials and Gen X couples saying they had occasional, frequent or many disagreements with their partner or spouse, according to a new LendingHome survey of 514 adults aged 25 to 45.
Those couples who've been together the longest tend to have fewer disagreements when it comes to searching for a home. Couples who've been together for at least five years disagreed frequently about the kind of home they were looking for just 14 percent of the time. However, couples who have been together less than four years had twice as many disagreements, the survey found.
That caused LendingHome to dig into what couples disagree about, and it found that the level of debt they had to take on (49 percent of couples), the style of the home (46 percent), the size of the home (45 percent) and the choice between buying a home that needs renovation or not (43 percent) were the biggest issues.
Interestingly some couples' disagreements seem to be gender-based. For example, the survey shows that women generally prefer traditional, suburban style homes, while men veer towards newer homes in more urban settings.
“Buying a home together is more than playing house and making Pinterest boards of dream kitchens; it’s a serious commitment with enormous financial implications,” said Samantha Burns, The Millennial Love Expert, a licensed couples therapist and dating coach in Boston. “So you need to feel secure and confident in your relationship before taking this step together. In searching for your dream home, get clear on your wants versus needs, firm deal breakers, and ability to analyze the pros and cons. By getting on the same page at the beginning, you’ll be able to minimize conflict throughout your home search.”
Even so, most couples say they're able to leave their homebuying disagreements behind once the transaction is complete. Sixty percent of couples surveyed said their disagreements when buying a home didn’t matter in the end. In fact, more than 50 percent of couples said they felt more committed to the relationship after purchasing the house.
