Homeownership has always been about more than buying a house. For many people, it represents stability, independence and a milestone they’ve been working toward for years.
That’s part of what makes today’s housing conversation so important. There are real pressures affecting when and how consumers can buy, but the desire to become a homeowner hasn’t gone away.
I was reminded of that during a recent conversation with Gwen Garnett, Executive Vice President and Managing Director of HomeFree-USA’s Center for Financial Advancement®. Gwen and her team work directly with aspiring homeowners, and our conversation kept coming back to a simple idea: while we can’t control every factor affecting the housing market, we can do more to help consumers understand where they stand and what’s possible.
Our research underscores the opportunity.
Nearly half of Gen Z adults we surveyed expect to be in a position to purchase a home within four years. At the same time, 34% of consumers said they have delayed exploring homeownership because they assumed their credit history or score wouldn’t qualify them.
For me, those findings tell two sides of the same story. People still want to own homes, but some may be stepping away from that goal before they fully understand their options.
Give consumers more clarity
Consumers shouldn’t have to wait until they’re ready to fill out a mortgage application to understand their credit, financial position or the steps that could help them prepare.
That doesn’t remove the broader affordability pressures they face. But it can give people greater clarity about the factors within their control and more time to act on them.
Look beyond the traditional picture
We can also continue evolving the way we understand consumers’ financial lives.
A prospective homebuyer may have years of consistent rental payments or other positive financial behaviors that provide additional context about how they manage their obligations.
Relevant expanded data can help bring more of that picture into view.
This isn’t about collecting more information simply because it’s available. It’s about identifying information that can help create a more complete understanding of consumers and risk.
Consumers appear to see value in that approach. More than half of those we surveyed said they would be more interested in pursuing homeownership if lenders considered additional positive payment history such as rent and utilities.
Bring different strengths together
Of course, information only goes so far if consumers don’t know what to do with it.
That’s one of the reasons I value conversations with Gwen. Experian and HomeFree-USA bring different perspectives to the same challenge.
Companies like ours can help consumers better understand their financial position. Community organizations can help turn that information into a plan grounded in someone’s individual circumstances. And lenders become an important resource when a consumer is ready to explore financing.
When those strengths work together, we can make the process easier to understand.
There is no single answer to housing affordability. But there are meaningful ways we can help aspiring homeowners today: give them greater clarity, understand more of their financial lives and connect them with information and guidance that helps them make informed decisions.
For consumers who still see homeownership in their future, that can make a meaningful difference.
You can watch my conversation with Gwen below and learn more about HomeFree at https://homefreeusa.org/.
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