Coulda, woulda, shoulda...bought that house! Considerations for relocating employees

We have probably all experienced buyer's remorse, but renter's remorse is kind of a new one for me. As it turns out, a lot of renters are saying they coulda, shoulda, woulda bought a home rather than renting a place. One of my co-workers, Gina Grover, consulting services specialist here at Plus, shared the article, 45% of Renters Wish They Owned with me along with her summary:

"Renters seems to have more regrets than homeowners, even taking in to account the headaches that come with home ownership, according to the Zillow Housing Aspirations Report. One of their biggest regrets is renting in the first place: 45% regret renting rather than buying — more than five times the share of homeowners (8%) who regret buying instead of renting.  

The top 10 regrets include:

• Renting prevents me from earning equity
• I can't customize or improve the property
• Rent is too high
• Lack of private outdoor space
• Renting a home instead of owning
• Size - too small
• Undesirable home finished or layout
• Not enough parking
• Pet ownership is too limited
• Landlord is not responsive

With mortgage rates slipping below 4% again for the first time in 16 months, the opportunity to buy may be more affordable for more of our relocating employees!"

This semiannual survey is conducted by Ipsos with 10,000 homeowners and renters in 20 of the largest metro areas in the U.S. There were some additional interesting things for relocating employees to consider in the data.

• People with children regret renting instead of buying more than those without children: 59% compared to 42% of renters without children.
• Homeowners do have some regrets – most notably the curse of unexpected repairs: 36% of homeowners wish they didn’t have to deal with unexpected repairs and maintenance.
• The next-biggest regret is the inability to relocate (27%), followed by the bane of too much yardwork (25%).
• Despite the talk of smaller homes being desired, only 11% of homeowners think their house is too large.
• Millennial and Generation Z homeowners are more likely to think their mortgage payments and interest rates are too high and have more regrets about the type of mortgage they have. (29% of young homeowners regret rushing the process, compared with 12% of older buyers.)

Interesting things for relocating employees to consider as they face the process and making that decision on renting versus buying in their new locations.