Millennials, now entering their first-home-buying years, will purchase homes in greater numbers than their older peers in Generation X or the baby boom. But it will take millennials longer to save for a down payment, according to a study from NerdWallet.

It will take millennials — those between the ages of 18 and 34 — 4.2 years to save for a down payment, compared with the 2.6 years for Gen Xers.

The following are among the key points in study:

Some 48% of millennials said they plan to buy a home in the next five years, a higher percentage than Gen Xers (33%) and baby boomers (16%).

It takes millennials the longest to save for a down payment. Based on the 2016 Consumer Expenditure Survey by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, millennials save $7,624 a year while Gen Xers save $12,347 a year. Assuming a 10% down payment on a $323,300 purchase mortgage, it would take millennials 4.2 years to save and Gen Xers 2.6 years to save. The good news for millennials from the expenditure survey is the percentage of those with a mortgage rises to 31% for those between 25 and 34 years old from 10% of those under 25 years old.

Some 44% of Americans believe you need a down payment of 20% or more to buy a home.

More than two-thirds, 68%, of Americans who do not own a home say there is something keeping them from buying a home now, and 44% said a lack of down payment savings is the obstacle.

Of Americans who plan to buy a home in the next five years, 79% would be willing to make sacrifices to save for a down payment, such as delaying getting married or having children.

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https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/mortgages/down-payment-reality-report/

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