Gen Z, millennial newlyweds are pushing this once ‘taboo’ wedding gift option

Beggars can’t be choosers – unless it’s your wedding day.

Many newlyweds are opting to forego traditional gifts of cash funds and are instead adding the option of helping pay for a home purchase.

Wedding resource websites like The Knot and Zillow Home Loans found that 55% more couples are adding a “home loan” to their wedding registry than in 2018.

Couples are adding the controversial request to their wish lists with the dream of starting their new chapter as husband and wife in a home they can own.

A recent survey by wedding experts Zola found that nearly 87% of couples planned to add a cash fund to their registry – with more than 37% planning to put the money toward a new home.

“The whole idea of ​​giving a wedding gift is to invest in and celebrate one’s future together as a couple, and I don’t think there’s a more profound way to do that than to contribute to the new home they’re going to have. share together.” Allison Cullman, VP of marketing and brand strategy at Zola, told the New York Times, adding that requests for money are “becoming less taboo.”

Although, in some cases, it wouldn’t cover the full down payment, it still helps enough to carry them further than without the excess funds.

With interest rates falling compared to previous years, couples are eager to buy a home, but are struggling because many homeowners resist taking advantage of lower rates, creating a rate lock-in effect.

Amanda Pendleton, personal finance expert for Zillow Home Loans, found that between 2018 and 2022, “first-time home buyers were at least twice as likely to report putting gift funds toward their down payment.”

Pendleton said that in 2023, 43% reported gift funds from friends and family as the source of at least part of their housing goal.

“I think people are more inclined to give a gift to something specific where they’re going to be able to see the outcome of it versus when it feels like an abyss,” Cullman added.