Millennials are willing to invest the highest amount for the purchase of a home, study says

Asked what types of homes they want to purchase in the next two years, 47% of respondents mentioned that they are interested in three-room properties, 41% are oriented towards two-room homes, 19% would purchase four-room homes, while only 11% would buy a studio apartment and 8% a home with more than four rooms, according to the latest study conducted by Storia.ro, the real estate platform launched by OLX. The majority of respondents under 26 years old (Generation Z) and those between 43 and 58 years old (Generation X) show an increased interest in purchasing two-room homes, and the majority of those between 27 and 42 years old (Generation Y) and those over 59 years (Baby Boomers) would purchase three-bedroom homes.

59% of respondents to the study expressed their interest in an apartment (in proportion to 67% of people under 26), while 41% of respondents specified that they want to purchase a house (in proportion to 60% of people over 59 years).

Regarding the year of construction of the homes, most respondents would like to purchase homes built between 2001-2020 (53%) or between 1977 and 2000 (48%). At the same time, 12% of respondents would purchase homes built before 1977 or after 2021 (36%).

The data shows that the “Work from home” phenomenon remains balanced post-pandemic as 47% of respondents declare that they do not work from home, while 42% still work from home, occasionally, often or very often. Regarding the method of paying for the property, 47% of the respondents declare that they would pay it through a bank loan, 41% would pay cash, and 12% would make installments directly to the developer.

“As our recent study shows, the majority of respondents from generations Y (59%) and Z (49%), aged up to 42, plan to purchase real estate with the help of a bank loan, while people over 43, from generation X (55%) and Baby Boomers (82%) prefer to pay for a property by paying cash. Interesting to note is the percentage of those who are willing to allocate from 90,000 euros to over 300,000 euros for a home. This category, which invests the most in a home, includes 43% of Generation Y (27-42 years old), 34% of Generation X (43-58 years old), 30% of Generation Z (under 26 years old) and 25% of the Baby Boomers generation (over 59 years old),” said Monica Dudău, Marketing Manager of Storia.ro & OLX Imobiliare.

What is the real estate purchase budget by generation

When asked what would be the budget they consider for the purchase of the home, the majority of respondents from all four generations analyzed first mentioned a budget of up to 50,000 euros, followed by a budget between 51,000 – 70,000 euros.

Analyzing the responses by age category, it can be seen that 45% of Generation Z (under 26 years old) would consider a budget below 50,000 euros, 31% go for a budget between 51,000 – 70,000 euros , and 19% consider a budget between 70,001 euros and 90,000 euros.

Respondents from generation Y (27-42 years old) equally chose the option of a budget below 50,000 euros (31%), respectively a budget between 51,000 – 70,000 euros (31%), while 21% have stated that their acquisition budget would be between €70,001 and €90,000.

Those from generation X (43-58 years old) mentioned a budget of less than 50,000 euros in proportion of 37%. 29% of the respondents in this age category would allocate an amount between 51,000 – 70,000 euros, and 19% of them would aim for a budget between 70,001 and 90,000 euros.

Those over 59, part of the Baby Boomers generation, declared in proportion to 45% that they would consider a budget below 50,000 euros, while 22% would allocate between 51,000 – 70,000 euros, and 14% would had a bigger budget, between 70,001 euros and 90,000 euros.

According to all the extracted data, respondents who are part of generation Y (27-42 years old) allocate 43% of purchase budgets starting from 90,000 euros and up to over 300,000 euros, followed by those of generation X (43 -58 years), with a percentage of 34%.

What are the priority criteria for Romanians when purchasing a home

For those under the age of 26 (part of generation Z), the most important criteria for choosing a neighborhood are: safety (variant chosen by 65% ​​of respondents), cleanliness (57%) and the existence of public transport (56 %).

Generation Y (27-42 years old) classify safety (74%), cleanliness (66%), peace and clean air (63%) as the most important criteria when choosing a neighborhood.Generation X (43-58 years old) believes that the most important criteria in choosing the neighborhood are: safety (72%), clean air and quietness of the neighborhood (68%), but also cleanliness (63%).

And those from the Baby Boomers generation (over 59 years old) believe that clean air (71%), quietness, green areas, cleanliness and safety (66%) are the most important when choosing your neighborhood to live in.

The three most important criteria from the perspective of the interior space coincide in the case of all the analyzed generations and include: in the first place the quality electrical installation, in the second place the quality sanitary installation, and in the third place the existence of the thermal plant.

The generations and the compromises they would make at the housing level

The youngest of the respondents, Generation Z (those aged up to 26), mentioned that they would be willing to make the following concessions: desired floor (42%), interior design style (41%) and distance from friends or family (39%).

And Millennials (27-42 years old) would be willing to compromise in terms of distance from friends or family (36%) and the desired floor (34%). At the same time, they also mentioned that they would be willing to give up the initial criteria regarding the age of the home (34%), but also the criteria related to the area of ​​the home (32%).

Conversely, those from Generation X (47-63 years old) would be most willing to increase the initially allocated budget (32%). Respondents over the age of 59 stated that they would compromise on the surface area of ​​the home (40%), but also on the compartmentalization and age of the home, both chosen by a percentage of 32%.

The survey was conducted online during July-August 2023 on 1,035 respondents countrywide.