More Millennial homebuyers are buying homes with their partners before marrying them, and experts say this is in response to higher costs of living, and reveals differing views on cohabitation and marriage from other generations.
Millennials are six times more likely to move in with their partner before marriage than were their parents, per recent analysis, and according to a Coldwell Banker Marriage and Homebuying Study, roughly 25 percent of Millennial homebuyers in the U.S. did so with their current spouse before tying the knot. Even though Millennials are waiting longer to get married, they are not delaying homebuying. A 2019 report from Clever Real Estate says 84 percent of Millennials view homeownership as part of the American Dream, Business Insider reports.
When it came to life milestones, Jessica Booth didn't do things the "traditional" way. One year before getting engaged, Booth purchased a house on Long Island with her boyfriend.
"When we bought the house, we really wanted to move in together, but my husband did not want to get an apartment because he didn't want to pay rent toward something he didn't own," Booth told Business Insider. "He was set on getting a house, and it was something I wanted to do with him as well." She added: "We definitely got a lot of comments about how it was potentially a bad decision, but we knew it was right for us."
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