Must-have or maybe not? When home buyers start giving up their nonnegotiables

Many people fantasize about must-haves for their dream home. For some, it’s being in a particular part of town, or having plenty of bedrooms for kids and guests. Others want an updated kitchen or enough bathrooms to make getting ready for work and school easy in the morning.

These prospective homeowners might go into the home buying process thinking their must-haves are nonnegotiable. But some learn quickly that current housing market trends can make a hard line unsustainable.

In today’s competitive housing market, getting the right home in the right spot at the right time requires compromise – on budgets, in bidding wars, and sometimes even on must-haves.

Rocket Mortgage recently asked 1,176 first-time buyers who plan to purchase a home in the next 2 years about how much they’ve compromised on their must-have features during their search. The discovery? The majority of home buyers who are willing to be flexible start compromising on so-called “nonnegotiables” even before the first bid.

Key takeaways:

• About 70% of first-time buyers haven’t budged on their must-haves, but almost one-third (30%) say their nonnegotiables have changed since the start of their home search.
• Buyers who relent on their must-haves often compromise before their first bid. They decide to be flexible after researching the cost of buying a home in their ideal neighborhood (34%), touring multiple homes that don’t meet their expectations (21%), or talking to a real estate agent (10%).
• More than 58% of buyers who have changed their nonnegotiables say they’re willing to compromise due to affordability concerns.
• While 64% of prospective buyers cite location as nonnegotiable at first, later in the process it becomes the most commonly compromised must-have (38%) among those who are willing to be flexible.

Must-haves aren't actually set in stone

For many first-time home buyers, nonnegotiables aren’t as fixed as they originally think.

Rocket Mortgage asked survey respondents to identify their top nonnegotiable home features at the start of their search. Location (64%) and number of bedrooms (62%) top the list, followed by number of bathrooms (45%), central air (36%), an updated kitchen (29%), natural light (22%), an updated primary bathroom (15%), and high ceilings (13%).

Respondents were then asked if their nonnegotiables have changed since the start of their search. The answer? While 70% say they haven’t budged on their nonnegotiables, 30% have already adjusted their original list of must-have home features due to challenging housing market conditions or other reasons.

For those who reported their nonnegotiables changed during the home search process, location (38%) and number of bedrooms (36%) are the top-cited trade-offs. These two features are the most popular nonnegotiables at first – meaning the leading must-haves among first-time buyers are also the most commonly compromised.

Prospective buyers say they’ve also adjusted expectations around an updated kitchen (30%), number of bathrooms (28%), high ceilings (24%), natural light (20%), updated primary bathroom (19%), and central air (17%).

The market has a way of changing your mind

So what happened? What made originally nonnegotiable expectations suddenly more, well, negotiable?

To the respondents who said their nonnegotiables changed, Rocket Mortgage asked why they became willing to compromise on their must-haves. The majority (58%) cite affordability concerns, and one-third (33%) say they’re hoping to get into a desirable neighborhood – the two most popular responses among this group.

Notably, more than a quarter (26%) say they’re now willing to compromise because they’re feeling burned out by the process. With weeks, months, or potentially even years of searching and waiting – plus a veritable tome of documents to put together and sign – the process certainly can be a slog. Then, of course, there’s the emotional roller coaster of getting your hopes up about a home but having to recalibrate if that home goes to another bidder.

But when exactly do home buyers tend to compromise? What’s the tipping point? Of the respondents whose nonnegotiables shifted, many say they changed their minds after researching prices in their desired neighborhood (34%) or after touring multiple homes that didn’t meet expectations (21%). Other reasons include changes in market conditions (20%), getting outbid (15%), and receiving real estate agent feedback (10%).

This data paints an interesting picture of today’s housing market. First-time buyers enter the market thinking certain basics – like location and number of bedrooms – are nonnegotiable, but a significant number are forced to reevaluate when faced with current home prices.

“When interest rates were low 5 years ago, homebuyers wanted the great-looking house with impeccable staging and a design vision that’s almost complete,” says Adrianna Berlin, Principal Agent at Redfin. “But as interest rates started going up and affordability started going down, I’m now seeing buyers shift to a DIY mindset. They know they can change the cosmetics of their house on their own, relatively affordably.”

Stretching the budget: How far will buyers go?

Although most people go into the home buying process with a budget in mind, many end up compromising on that number.

A whopping 81% of survey respondents had a starting home budget under $400,000, while 12% had a budget between $400,000 and $599,999, and the remaining 6% had a budget of $600,000 or more.

Roughly 37% of all respondents say they’ve compromised and increased their budget since beginning their home search. But the degree to which these first-time buyers have increased their home budget varies greatly.

About 41% say they’ve bumped their budgets by less than $20,000, and 37% report expanding theirs by anywhere from $20,000 – $59,999. On the other end of the spectrum, 11% have increased their budgets by $100,000 or more. The remaining 12% say they’ve stretched their budgets by $60,000 – $99,999.

The takeaway is clear: While the majority (63%) of prospective home buyers haven’t compromised on price, a significant number eventually adjust their expectations – no matter how nonnegotiable they initially think their home budget might be.

“Things like the ability to live a street away from their best friend, have a 10-minute commute to work, and a location in a great school district, often outweigh slight budget stretches or choosing to delay some of the cosmetics they were hoping to address before moving in,” Berlin says.

Why so many buyers hold back in a tough market

It’s no secret that the process of shopping for a new home can be tedious, frustrating, and exhausting – especially when you get into bidding wars.

Of the prospective first-time buyers Rocket Mortgage surveyed, 85% say they haven’t made an offer on any homes. Why? The reasons varied widely:

• 24% say they’re still saving for a down payment.
• 22% say they’re still researching neighborhoods and markets.
• 19% say they can’t find a home that meets their nonnegotiable expectations within their budget.
• 13% say they’re waiting for a life change, like a promotion or getting married.
• 11% say interest rates are too high.
• 5% say they’re concerned about ongoing costs, such as upgrades, repairs, and maintenance.
• 5% say homes they wanted already had multiple offers.

Of the respondents who say they’ve made offers on a home, 31% say they’ve made one offer, while 34% say they’ve made two offers and 25% have made three.

Surprisingly, 7% have made four offers, and 4% have made a whopping five or more offers. Those buyers are likely in competitive markets, as multiple offers typically signal tight inventory, desirable neighborhoods, or homes priced at or below perceived value.

The bottom line: In a competitive market, being flexible gets you home faster

For first-time home buyers, it’s challenging in today’s housing market to find a home without compromising on must-haves. The lesson is simple: Be as flexible and open-minded as possible, because you never know when one of your nonnegotiables might need to become negotiable after all.

“I think it’s less about compromising on nonnegotiables, and more about understanding which nonnegotiables will give buyers the lifestyle they want right now,” Berlin says.

Methodology

Rocket Mortgage surveyed 1,176 American renters age 18 and older who plan to buy a home in the next 2 years. The survey was conducted online in February 2026. Responses are rounded off to the nearest whole number, and percentages don’t always total 100% due to rounding.

Rocket Mortgage is a trademark of Rocket Mortgage, LLC or its affiliates.