Nearly two-thirds of Millennial homeowners have buyer's remorse – more than any other generation, according to a new report.

Homeownership is an integral part of the American dream, but it's not for everyone: 44 percent of all U.S. homeowners have regrets about their home purchase, according to the survey of 2,668 U.S. adults by Bankrate.

The most common regret was not anticipating the high maintenance and repair costs that come with home ownership (18 percent), followed by 12 percent who say they bought too small of a home and 8 percent who said they purchased in a bad location.

'When you buy a house, you can't call the maintenance company or a landlord to fix major issues; it's all on you,' said Luis Rosa, a certified financial planner in Henderson, Nevada.

This chart illustrates how much of each generation harbors regrets over their home purchase

He noted that some expenses — such as a new air conditioner, furnace or water heater — often take first-time buyers by surprise.

'I always advise homebuyers to create savings buckets and open a savings account that can collect interest that's set aside specifically for housing repairs,' he said.

Another 7 percent each said their remorse is because their mortgage payment is too high and because they don't feel like their home was a good investment.

'Buyer's remorse can easily be avoided with adequate research and planning,' Bankrate analyst, Deborah Kearns said. 'Consumers should expect to set aside 1 percent of their home's purchase price each year to keep in a savings account to cover these expenses. Budgeting early on can prevent dipping into emergency savings or going into debt.'

When broken down by generation, after Millennials (63 percent), Generation X was the next most likely (53 percent) to have second-thoughts about their home purchase, followed by Baby Boomers (35 percent) and the Silent Generation (33 percent).

Overall, a majority of Americans (79 percent) said that owning a home is a benchmark on the path to achieving the American dream. It ranks higher that reaching retirement (68 percent), having a successful career (63 percent) and owning a car (58 percent).

This graph illustrates the top reasons why American homeowners regret their purchase - along with the 56 percent who have no regrets

Roughly half of respondents who don't own a home said they don't make enough money to afford that kind of investment.

Another 41 percent said they can't afford a down payment or closing costs and 34 percent said home prices are too high for them to buy right now.

Millennials are more than three times as likely as those who are older to say that student loan debt is holding them back from homeownership (19 percent compared to 6 percent).

Just 17 percent of non-homeowners said they have no desire to buy a house.

'Taking on a larger mortgage payment than you can comfortably handle is a recipe for disaster,' Kearns said.

'Spend a few minutes using a mortgage calculator to determine what you can afford, and shop around with at least three different lenders to ensure you're getting the best rates and terms,' she added. 'The up-front legwork could potentially save you thousands of dollars.'