Young newlyweds are pushing once ‘taboo’ wedding gift options

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

Instead of traditional cash gifts, many newlyweds are adding options to help pay for the home purchase.

Wedding resource sites like The Knot and Zillow Home Loans found a 55% increase in the number of couples adding “housing funds” to their wedding registries compared to 2018.

Couples added the controversial request to their wish lists, dreaming of starting their new chapter as husband and wife in a house they could own.

A recent survey by wedding experts Zola revealed that nearly 87% of couples plan to add a cash fund to their registry, with more than 37% planning to use the money to buy a new home.

“The whole idea of ​​giving a wedding gift is to invest in and celebrate someone’s future together as a couple, and I can’t think of a more profound way to do that than to contribute to the new home they share together,” Allison Calmanzola, Brand Marketing and Strategy the vice president told the New York Times, adding that asking for money “has become less taboo.”

While in some cases it won’t cover the full down payment, it’s still enough to help them go further than if they had no money left.

With interest rates down compared to previous years, couples are eager to buy homes but are stuck because many homeowners refuse to ignore the lower rates, creating a rate lock-in effect.

Amanda Pendleton, personal finance expert at Zillow Home Loans, revealed that between 2018 and 2022, “first-time homebuyers were at least twice as likely to report using their bonus money for a down payment.”

By 2023, 43% said gifts from friends and family will fund at least part of their housing goals, Pendleton said.

Kalman added: “I think people are more inclined to give gifts to something specific that they can see the results of, rather than when it feels like an abyss.”