The confidence level towards Gulf Shores real estate is on the rise according to the latest Zillow Housing Confidence Index. Homebuyers generally feel more positive about the Gulf Shores real estate market now compared to the beginning of the year. The index was 63.7 in January, but increased to 64.2 during the summer.
The Housing Confidence Index is measured on a scale of 0 to 100, and readings above 50 show a positive market sentiment. Sub-sectors within the index look at buying and selling conditions, predicted changes in home values, market trends, home affordability, home buying plans and attitudes towards home ownership. Residents in the areas surveyed reported increased overall confidence in the Gulf Shores real estate market.
Younger Renters See Themselves Buying Gulf Shores Real Estate
Younger renters were most optimistic about their future home buying prospects, and some 82% of those aged between 18 and 34 were pretty confident they would be able to buy their own Gulf Shores real estate someday. In comparison 64% of those aged 34 to 49 felt this way, and just 48% of those aged 50 to 64 thought they'd be able to buy their own Gulf Shores home.
The younger generation also have a much more optimistic view about the Gulf Shores real estate market in general, and a 33% expected property values to rise more than 6% annually over the next 10 years compared to just 21% of middle-aged respondents, and 15% of those falling into the older age group.
Although strong aspirations are no substitute for financial capacity or credit worthiness on a mortgage loan application, feedback from millennial renters is significant because it confirms that they bear relatively few psychological scars from the housing bust, and because the attitudes of this generation will drive housing trends in the decades to come.
Experts point out we need this generation to feel confident about home ownership, and we should want them to buy regardless of the fact that they may initially struggle to purchase a home.
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