Scroll Your Way to the Perfect Home: Tips for Turning “Dreamscrolling” Into Reality

What’s your “dream home” look like? Can you picture it vividly, or is it more of a general idea? Or perhaps simply owning any home would be a dream come true for you!

The term “dream home” gets thrown around a lot by home buyers and real estate agents, but it’s such a subjective term and will mean different things to each person.

But whatever your vision of the perfect home is, dreaming about it is not only common, it may also help you achieve your dreams!

What Is “Dreamscrolling?”

According to a recent study, the average person spends about two and a half hours “dreamscrolling” everyday, looking online at things they’d like to own someday. The average time spent adds up to 873 hours per year, which is 36 total days of scrolling the internet for things a person would love to buy, but can’t yet afford.

When you look at it that way, it sounds like an awful lot of wasted time! But that’s not how most people see it…

Seventy-one percent of those surveyed said that they felt it was time well spent, because it motivates them to reach their financial goals, and 69% see it as an investment in themselves. (Although their bosses may disagree, since half of the respondents claimed to spend hours per day doing so at work!)

While their rationale may not hold any weight with bosses, here are the main reasons respondents said that “dreamscrolling” is beneficial to them:

• 67% claimed that it helped them envision what they want in life.
• 42% said it was useful in planning for their ideal retirement.
• 56% believe that it helps them be smart with their money, and make better choices about what to (and not to) spend it on.
• 30% stated that it helped them avoid making unplanned purchases or going into debt.
• 25% use it as a way to better plan and achieve their financial goals.

That being said, the survey also shed some light on what people were typically spending their time scrolling for, including:

• Clothing, shoes, and accessories (49%)
• Technology and gadgets (30%)
• Home décor and furniture (29%)
• Beauty and self-care products (23%)
• Things for their pets (19%)

Unfortunately, those types of things aren’t likely to help someone achieve their ideal life, or retirement. Yet more than half of those surveyed claimed to have many things saved in shopping carts or open tabs on their screen, and estimated it would cost about $86,593.40 on average to afford everything they currently have saved.

However, one in five people claimed that they were “dreamscrolling” for their dream home! Now that’s a better way to focus time and attention, if you’re truly trying to envision and plan for living your best life, and ultimately your retirement! Perhaps the folks who have nearly $90,000 worth of consumer goods saved in their carts should rethink those purchases and apply that money to a down payment on a house!

Some Do’s and Don’ts of “Dreamscrolling” for Home Buyers

“Dreamscrolling” can be a great way to make your dreams of homeownership a reality, if you do it thoughtfully! If you’re one of the one in twenty people scrolling through listings looking for your dream home, here are a few things you should avoid doing in order to make it as productive as possible:

• Looking at homes you can’t expect to ever afford. It’s easy to envision yourself living like a movie star in a mansion, but it’s another thing to actually be able to afford that lifestyle unless you hit the lottery, or land a leading role in the next blockbuster movie. Scrolling through homes that would obviously be a dream home, but aren’t attainable will make it nearly impossible for you to appreciate a dream home that’s within your budget. Feel free to aspire and look at homes that are somewhat of a stretch, but be careful not to fill your mind with visions of grandeur that very few people can actually afford.
• Waiting for the picture perfect home to hit the market. It’d be ideal if you could find a home that meets every single thing on your wishlist, but the reality is, no matter how much money you can spend, there’s rarely a house that checks off every box.
• Not taking any actual steps to buy a house. Unfortunately, you can’t just dream your way into a home. At some point you need to take action, not just scroll through listings.

In order to make your “dreamscrolling” more productive and turn your hopes into dreams, here are a few things you can do to make it happen:

• Find out how much you can currently afford by getting preapproved with a mortgage lender. You might think you know how much you need to afford the house of your dreams, and you might even think you know how much you can actually afford, but (at least for many buyers) the first step is finding out how much a mortgage lender will approve you to spend.
• Find out how much different your financials would have to be to afford your dream home. If you’re determined to buy a house in a price range that is higher than a lender approves you to spend, ask them to advise you on what it would take for you to be able to afford the higher-end home. Is it within reach if you can get yourself a promotion, or take on a side hustle? Do you just need to save a little bit more money for a down payment? Is there a distant rich uncle in your life who told you he’d be leaving you a ton of money when he dies? Or is it more of a pipe dream than a realistic dream for you to be able to afford what you’ve set your sights on?
• Focus on what you can afford now, or in the near future. Waiting to have enough money to afford what you’ve determined is your dream home could take years to save up enough for a down payment, and the ability to handle the monthly payments on your dream home. And, as you’re waiting to have the money you need, there’s a good chance the value of those homes will increase, making it a constantly moving target. You’re probably better off adjusting your criteria and expectations and finding a home that you can appreciate for now. As you build up equity, perhaps it’ll allow you to eventually buy your true dream home… or maybe you’ll find that with some personal touches, the one you buy is your dream home!

The Takeaway:

“Dreamscrolling” is a new term to describe when people spend time looking online at things they’d like to own someday, but can’t afford yet. According to a recent study, people are spending an average of 2.5 hours per day doing it, which amounts to 36 days per year spent dreaming of what they want to buy.

One in twenty of those surveyed claimed they used “dreamscrolling” as a way to find their dream home. While it can be an inspirational and potentially useful approach, if you truly want to buy your dream home you need to take action by finding out how much you can truly afford now, and being realistic about what constitutes a dream home by focusing on homes within your budget.