73% of First-Time Home Buyers Have Regrets About Their Purchase

Recent buyers targeted a median purchase price of $310,000 — well below the current U.S.
median of $416,900 — yet 51% of first-time buyers feel financially overwhelmed.

ST. LOUIS, June 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Nearly three-quarters (73%) of first-time home buyers and 65% of overall home buyers have regrets about their home purchase, according to a new report from Clever Real Estate, a St. Louis-based real estate company.

Financial regrets top the list for buyers. One in 5 (20%) regret locking in a high interest rate, and 1 in 8 (13%) wish they hadn't overspent on a home.

About 82% of home buyers made compromises when purchasing their home, with 61% saying a strong foundation wasn't important and 63% saying the same about a new roof. Unsurprisingly, 28% had second thoughts after their offer was accepted.

About 30% of recent home buyers have felt financially in over their heads, with first-time buyers (51%) twice as likely as repeat buyers (25%) to feel overwhelmed.

Nearly 1 in 4 recent buyers (23%) say their finances have gotten worse since buying a home — outpacing the 19% who say their finances have improved.

Although 62% of buyers say finding an affordable home was important and 21% received a price reduction from the seller, 38% exceeded their initial budget, and 37% feel they overpaid.

In addition, 38% of buyers — including 43% of first-timers — accepted a higher interest rate than they preferred to secure a mortgage.

Among recent homeowners, 40% have had to make major lifestyle changes to make ends meet, and 21% have taken on additional debt. Even still, 1 in 6 (16%) have struggled to make mortgage payments on time.

More than 1 in 4 buyers (28%), including 36% of first-time buyers, say the home-buying process was more difficult than they expected, with 34% saying the shortage of homes in markets across the U.S. made purchasing a home more challenging.

If they could do it over, 94% of buyers would change something about their home-buying experience, but 44% say they're happier overall since purchasing their home.

Read the full report: https://listwithclever.com/research/homebuyers-survey-2025

About Clever
Clever Real Estate is a technology company that produces educational real estate content reaching over 10 million readers annually, and its nationwide agent matching service has a 5.0-star Trustpilot rating across 3,500+ customer reviews. Since launching in 2017, Clever has reached $13.1 billion in real estate sold, matched 164,000+ customers with realtors, and saved consumers over $190 million on commission fees. Clever's network spans 16,000 agents across all 50 states.

Please contact Alyssa Evans at [email protected] with any questions or to arrange an interview.

CONTACT: 
Alyssa Evans
Clever Real Estate
[email protected] 
315-690-1518

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SOURCE Clever Real Estate