Buying a Home Before Marriage
First comes love … then comes a house … then comes marriage. Getting hitched may not be the ultimate sign of commitment these days as more and more couples opt to buy a house together before walking down the aisle, new research shows. Nearly 1 in 4 married couples ages 18 to 34 purchased a home together before getting married, according to a recent survey. That compares to just 14 percent of married couples ages 45 and older.
That’s a reflection of millennials’ shifting attitudes toward commitment, said psychotherapist Dr. Robi Ludwig. “People are very commitment oriented, but millennials are much more pragmatic,” she told AOL Real Estate. “I think millennials are saying that if we want to have the life we want, we need to make smart decisions early on. … The home becomes the new engagement ring — and in some ways, the new wedding.”
It’s not that these young couples are less committed by putting the purchase of a house before a wedding. According to the survey, 80 percent of all married couples who bought a home together at any stage of their relationship said that purchase strengthened their bond more than any other purchase they’ve made.
