Nearly half of unmarried couples (45%) say buying a home together is a bigger commitment than marriage.
ST. LOUIS, July 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 1 in 4 people who bought a home with a partner (26%) say their home is more likely than their relationship to still be in their life in 10 years, according to a new report from Clever Real Estate, a St. Louis-based real estate company.
Over a quarter of co-owners (29%) say the home gives them a greater sense of security than their partner does, and 21% say their house would be harder to walk away from than their relationship.
Forced to choose between the two, 1 in 6 (16%) would keep their home over their partner, a figure that climbs to 25% of millennials and 28% of unmarried couples.
With 8% of buyers, and 35% of millennials, saying the fear of being priced out pushed them to purchase with a partner before they were ready, it's little surprise that more than 1 in 4 co-owners (26%) have at least one regret about buying together. That figure nearly doubles among millennials (50%) and unmarried couples (45%).
Homeownership ranks as the No. 1 relationship strain for 29% of respondents, tied with health issues (29%) and outranking family (20%), everyday finances (15%), and having children (11%).
After buying together, 52% say a habit of their partner became more frustrating, and 24% have fantasized about living alone. In fact, 1 in 20 (5%) say the stress of owning a home with their partner pushed them to download a dating app, a number that leaps to a staggering 29% of millennials.
More than a quarter (27%) discovered financial information about their partner they did not know before buying, most often a lack of savings (11%), concerning spending habits (9%), or credit card debt (8%).
At the same time, 21% of respondents, including 44% of millennials, admit they have hidden home-related spending from their partner.
About 1 in 12 (8%) have concealed a home-related purchase of $1,000 or more, and 10% keep financial accounts their partner doesn't know about, a figure that rises to 30% among unmarried couples.
Few couples, however, have planned for a worst-case scenario. More than a third (36%) believe they personally deserve to keep the house if the relationship ended, yet two-thirds of couples (66%) have never discussed what would happen to the home in a split, and only 7% have a written agreement.
Read the full report at: https://listwithclever.com/research/how-homeownership-affects-relationships-2026
About Clever Real Estate
Clever Real Estate's content reaches over 10 million readers annually, and its nationwide agent matching service has a 5-star Trustpilot rating across 4,333+ customer reviews. Since launching in 2017, Clever has reached over $16.5 billion in real estate sold, matched over 243,000 customers with realtors, and saved consumers over $240 million on commission fees. Clever's network spans over 13,000 agents across all 50 states.
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Clever Real Estate
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SOURCE Clever Real Estate
