From the day many couples say “yes” to the moment they say “I do,” the clock is ticking on paying for a wedding and buying their first home. In the past year alone, the average cost of a wedding, including an engagement ring, ceremony, reception and honeymoon was $38,700, according to WeddingWire, an online marketplace for the wedding industry. Add to that the financial pressure to save enough money for an affordable home.
A new study by Chase Home Lending on the attitudes and preferences that Millennials have toward the home-buying journey found the top three motivators to buy a home were the desire to own their own space, lifestyle changes such as marriage or having a child, and investments or wealth building.
Cleveland, Detroit and Pittsburgh are the most affordable metros where couples can throw a wedding and also cover a down payment on their first home, according to a new report from Redfin, a technology-powered real estate brokerage. The research includes the full ranking of the most affordable cities to have both a wedding and purchase a home, leading up to the most expensive cities.
In all three of the metro areas mentioned above, the average combined cost of a wedding and a down payment is less than $65,000, compared with the national average of more than $109,000.