We’ve all heard that saying that you can never go home again, but that doesn’t stop us from wanting to. A new Zillow survey finds that 44% of Americans would buy their childhood home today if the cost wasn’t an issue. But only half of those polled say they could actually afford to buy it at today’s prices.
According to the survey:
- Kids born in the 80s (62%) and 90s (55%) are the most likely to say they’d buy their childhood home today.
- But it’s not surprising that so few could afford it, as they’d need to have a six-figure income to afford the typical U.S. home now.
- Respondents say when they were kids, their dream home came with a pool (77%) and/or a home theater (73%).
- And 98% of those surveyed still wish for at least one feature of their childhood dream home.
- Today, 72% of adults would still want a pool and 76% would want a home theater in their dream home.
- But some grown-ups are more practical, dreaming of a home with air conditioning (89%), a walk-in closet (89%) and a laundry room (85%).
- But some dream big and their present-day dream home would include a bowling alley (43%), a frozen yogurt or soft serve machine (34%), and a soda vending machine (24%).
- There are some differences in generations when it comes to dream home features, like the 58% of those born in the 90s who say the home they dreamed of having as a kid had an elevator, compared to just 21% of those born in the 50s and earlier.
- But 38% of children of the 50s and earlier dreamed of a home with a white picket fence as kids, while just 21% of those born in the 90s felt the same.
Source: Zillow