New American Homeowner Report Reveals Mindset, Priorities, and Challenges of a New Generation
83% of recent first-time homeowners were surprised by the complexity of their homes after moving in — and they need help.
P.J. Linarducci•Last updated Apr 2, 2024
Last updated Apr 2, 2024
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As we prepared to launch our new Thumbtack experience — the — we wanted to learn even more about what today’s homeowners need and what’s keeping them from accomplishing their goals. What we found is that first-time homeowners are overwhelmed — they know what they want in a home, but they don’t know how to get there. To design an app that addresses these needs, we did research into who today’s homeowner is and what they need to bridge this gap. As part of this deep dive, we asked 2,000 homeowners in the U.S. who bought their first home in the last five years about their goals, challenges, and experiences.
Some findings stood out:
- They are planning to stay in their homes for the long term — an average of 20 years.
- They expect to spend about $30,000 this year across repairs, maintenance, and improvements — a striking amount given the median U.S. household income of $74,580. In fact, Americans spend far more on housing-related expenses than any other category, with a rising share of their paycheck going to mortgages.
- More than four out of five (83%) were surprised by the complexity of their homes after moving in and found home projects much more time-consuming than they anticipated.
- As digital natives, 88% want a mobile app to plan and manage their home projects, an unmet opportunity we are addressing with our new all-in-one home app.
We asked homeowners in the 25 largest U.S. cities about their level of knowledge when they first bought their home, their level of knowledge today, and how much they’d ideally like to know. Their responses showed room for improvement. While most would be satisfied with a B- grade on readiness to care for and improve their homes, the national average stands at an F on move-in day and a D after years of ownership.
Let’s take a deeper dive into the results of the New American Homeowner Report to see who they are, how they’re different from earlier generations, and what they need to help them properly care for and improve their homes.
Homeownership desires: space for family, proximity to work and modern amenities
For many Americans, buying their first home isn’t just a major milestone — it also reflects their plans, hopes, and priorities for the lives ahead of them. The vast majority of our survey respondents are millennials (88.5%), and with 35 as the average age of a first-time buyer, it’s no surprise that the biggest consideration driving a home purchase is having more space for children and pets (66% and 56% respectively).
Location is key as well. More than half reported wanting to be closer to work or family, while nearly one-third cited proximity to friends or being in a specific school district as important factors.
Asked about the type of home they wanted:
- 61% wanted a more modern or open layout.
- 59% wanted better quality appliances and smart home systems.
- 50% wanted extra space for a home office.
But what you want and what you get are two different things.
Spending more for less — but investing for the long run
Facing high prices and interest rates, a majority (62%) had to raise their original budget, spend a greater share of their income or savings than their parents did, and accept tradeoffs in the features, size, or location of the home they ended up buying. More than one-fifth even reported feeling forced to purchase a home that doesn’t fit their needs.
Even without landing their dream home for a dream price, this new generation of homeowners are determined to put down roots. In some cases, that’s simply a matter of economics:
- 59% said higher interest rates make them more likely to invest in making their current home fit their future needs.
- 44% are more likely to stay in their current home for the long run because it’s harder to buy.
Dollars and cents don’t tell the whole story, though. As young adults take possession of their first homes, they’re excited by the possibilities it represents and eager to take on the responsibilities of ownership. They want to care for and enhance the asset they’ve invested so deeply in. They want their homes to grow along with their families. But they quickly discover just how challenging that can be.
Getting stuck instead of getting started
The New American Homeowner Report paints a vivid picture of these enthusiastic first-time owners gazing around their new homes and saying: What now? In fact, the overwhelming majority (95%) report encountering barriers to taking on home projects — most often lacking the knowledge, expertise, or funds needed to get things done.
Unable to make progress on important projects, pressure and frustration build. One-third report feeling stressed or overwhelmed about what to do, becoming daunted by managing the logistics of home projects, or simply prioritizing home maintenance over the rest of their to-do list.
- The compromises required to make home-buying affordable has added to the challenge, with 52% of buyers purchasing a home that needed significant improvements. 27% who bought a home for over $1,000,000 report that it needed significant upgrades.
- 50% with budgets under $500,000 bought a home built before 2000.
- 64% say they’ve faced challenges caused by the aging housing supply such as asbestos, lead, or outdated heating.
And it’s not just the quirks of older homes that these homeowners find overwhelming. Asked about their home needs, a large majority shared a full to-do list for every part of the property. Routine maintenance and upkeep, exterior maintenance, lawn care, home safety measures, and plumbing maintenance and repairs were each named by at least four out of five respondents.
It’s a lot to get done, but these homeowners know they’ll have to find a way. They expect to stay in their homes an average of 20 years — and that means a lot of routine maintenance, essential repairs, and improvements to fit the changing needs of their growing family. They’re realistic about the financial implications, with a majority planning to spend $30,000 this year on repairs, maintenance, and improvements. If only they could just get started.
Procrastination begins at home
When you don’t know where to begin, it’s all too easy to put things off. Today’s homeowners report procrastination as a huge barrier to getting projects done, most often due to being overwhelmed or uncertain about what to do, when, or who to hire. They also cite a distressing variety of emotional factors that make them put off work, from stress, uncertainty, and anxiety to indecision and confusion. More than one-fifth named outright fear.
Procrastination isn’t just a potential problem — it’s actually the norm. Nearly one-third say that it takes them six months or more to complete a project, including essential home maintenance and repairs.
Steep learning curve for first-time homeowners
While homeowners may be overwhelmed by how much they need to learn, they’re doing their best with the resources at hand. It’s clear today’s homeowners want to manage their homes the way they do the rest of their lives — from the palm of their hand, with the majority turning to tools like YouTube (73%), Google (68%), or online consultations (51%) for help.
In part, these digital methods are filling in for the decline of more traditional sources of information and guidance. As people move farther away, homeowners have less support from their personal network, with only 48% turning to parents and family and 31% turning to their neighbors for advice.
But more help is clearly needed, as shown by the Thumbtack Homeowner GPA — the grades homeowners across 25 U.S. markets gave themselves for:
- Their level of knowledge about caring for their home when they first bought it
- How much knowledge they have now
- How much they want to learn
Overwhelmingly, homeowners across the country received a failing grade (F) when it came to their level of knowledge when they first bought their homes. After years of owning a home, they still only rated their current knowledge a D. Even the highest-scoring markets for current homeowner knowledge — Baltimore and Miami — only managed a C+ and C- respectively. Homeowners in Cleveland, Houston, Pittsburgh, and Washington D.C. faced the steepest learning curve between initial and desired level of knowledge. This is one report card they’re unlikely to put on the fridge.
It’s not that homeowners are aiming to be A students when it comes to knowledge about their homes. Across the country, they aspired to an average grade of a B-. The fact is, they don’t want to be their own experts. They’re more than happy to outsource their home maintenance needs. They just need to know enough to keep their homes running and avoid getting stuck.
A new Thumbtack app to meet the needs of a new generation
As the New American Homeowner Report makes clear, homeowners today are different from the previous generation. They’ve got more to deal with, face greater challenges, and lack knowledge about how to take care of their homes. As digital natives, they want an app that can help them solve these problems.Thumbtack’s new app is designed to meet this era of homeownership. Personalized for their homes and their goals, it gives homeowners a single all-in-one app to know what to do, when to do it, and who to hire. Instead of procrastinating in homes that no longer fit their needs or hold their value, they can move forward with confidence to keep things running smoothly, avoid costly repairs, and complete improvements that enhance both their lives and the value of their investment.Available now on iOS and rolling out to Android in the coming months, the new Thumbtack app reinvents caring for your home in the digital age. For a new generation of homeowners, it’s about time.
Methodology:This sample of 2000 US adults (aged 25–45) was surveyed from February 5, 2024 to February 22, 2024. Sampling was calibrated to obtain statistically significant samples from the top 25 DMA regions (as defined and ranked by Nielsen Media Research). All respondents self-confirmed ownership of their primary residence and became first-time homeowners within the past 5 years. DKC Analytics conducted and analyzed this survey with a sample procured using the Pollfish survey delivery platform, which delivers online surveys globally through mobile apps and the mobile web along with the desktop web. No post-stratification has been applied to the results.
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