Nearly Half of Homeowners Plan to Move This Decade

After a decade of staying put, American homeowners will be on the move again. Forty-five percent of homeowners plan to move to a different home within the next 10 years—if they own a house at all, according to LendingTree. While nearly half of Boomers are contemplating buying a new home, 28 percent of Millennial homeowners, which will be the largest demographic of homeowners in 2020, plan to return to renting. This marks a generational shift in the way Americans view homeownership. Instead of seeing renting as a money trap, some Millennials value the freedom renting gives to relocate for job opportunities. Whether they rent or buy, however, they are ready to pack up during this decade.

LendingTree, the country’s largest online lending marketplace, commissioned a survey of more than 1,500 Americans to better understand their sentiments around relocating. The study revealed a significant contrast between Millennials and other generations regarding lifestyle preferences and aspirations for homeownership. Forty-five percent of homeowners have plans to move to a different home within the next decade, while some Millennials question whether homeownership is the best fit.

A major share of homeowners have a new home purchase in mind in the coming years, but some homeowners plan to go back to the days of having a landlord and fewer residential responsibilities.

The top five reasons current homeowners would buy a new house in the next 10 years are retiring to a new area (16%), moving to a larger home (14%), downsizing as empty nesters (12%), upgrading from a starter home (10%) and job relocation (10%).

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