Millennials are now leading the pack of home buyers, and what’s one incentive driving them to take the mortgage plunge? Their dogs. A recent survey conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of SunTrust Mortgage found that 33 percent of millennial home buyers’ decision to buy a home was driven chiefly by their dog. Furry friends outranked wedding bells (25 percent cited marriage as their top motivator for buying a home) and kids, too (only 19 percent said birth of a child was their prime incentive).
And even those millennials who don’t yet own a home but are planning to are prioritizing pups, with 42 percent of those surveyed by SunTrust saying a dog — present or future — is a key factor in their home purchasing decisions.