The concept of keeping up with the Joneses has a new digital twist as most younger Americans go online to spy on the value of their friends’ homes.
According to a new survey by Mphasis Digital Risk of 1,386 adults ages 46 and younger, the majority (66%) acknowledged they “routinely” research the value of homes belonging to friends and acquaintances. But rather than be happy for their friends’ success, 79% of the survey’s respondents said their snooping left them feeling stressed, concerned or upset – which is a bit disturbing since 74% of the respondents indicated they currently own a home.
And why are these people spying on their friends? The primary reason respondents gave for checking home prices through online searches was to use the search as a “benchmark to measure [their] own income and worth” (59%), while others are trying to get “a sense of their [friends’] income” (42%).
“For the 80% of Gen Z and millennials stressed by viewing home prices of friends and acquaintances online, they should remember that lenders don’t benchmark borrowers against others to qualify for a home loan,” said Jeff Taylor, founder and managing director of Mphasis Digital Risk. “They use the borrower’s profile, and you would be surprised how much a borrower can afford. Even with interest rates entering the Summer of 2023 higher at near 7%, millions of people qualify to buy median-priced homes with as little as 5% down.”
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