The Latest Housing Market Data š”š
Hello from SurveyMonkey! In this weekās newsletter, Brianna is back with an exclusive deep dive on Americansā opinions of the housing market (spoiler: now may not be a good time to buy a house).Ā
6 in 10 say now is a bad time to buy a houseĀ
Amid economic woes and recession fears, the majority of adults (60%) say now is a bad time to buy a house, with 3 in 10 (29%) saying now is a āvery badā time ā up slightly from a March 2022 SurveyMonkey poll (53%). Just 14% say now is a good time to purchase a home and 24% are in between saying itās neither a good nor bad time.Ā
This comes as the majority of Americans (74%) say homes in their area are unaffordable ā up 30 points from an April 2019 NYT|SurveyMonkey poll where just 44% said the same (but was conducted during a year of strong economic growth). Among those who say housing in their area is unaffordable, half (49%) expect prices to increase anyway while just 24% expect prices to hold steady or fall. Among those who say homes in their area are generally affordable, few (12%) expect prices to hold steady or fall and another 12% expect prices to rise.Ā
But most donāt expect a housing market reprieve just yet: 42% expect the housing market in their area to worsen over the next year; 36% expect it to stay about the same and just 20% expect it to improve.Ā Ā
Young adults remain optimistic: 23% of those 18-34 expect the housing market to improve compared with 18% of those 35-64 and 18% of those 65+Ā
Renting woes: renters are far more likely than current homeowners to expect the housing market to worsen over the next year (48% vs. 38%)Ā
Millennials hit hard by sky-high mortgage ratesĀ
More than half of adults (53%) say increased mortgage rates have no impact on their home-buying plans while just 21% say increased mortgage rates have delayed their home-buying plans. Few (16%) say theyāve canceled their home-buying plans and almost no one (6%) has sped up their plans.Ā
Yet, Millennials are hit particularly hard: 29% say increased mortgage rates have delayed their home-buying plans while their counterparts (26% of Gen Z, 22% of Gen X, 13% of Boomers and 7% of the Silent Generation) are less likely to say the same.Ā
Younger adults (age 18-34) are also more likely to have canceled home buying plans due to increased mortgage rates (21%) compared with 16% of middle-age adults (35-64) and 9% of older adults (65+)
Renters are more than twice as likely as current homeowners to say increased mortgage rates have delayed home buying plans (33% vs. 14%)Ā
Adults of color burdened by increased mortgage rates: 31% of Asians, 30% of Blacks and 27% of Hispanics have delayed home buying plans due to increasing mortgage rates while just 17% of whites and 21% of adults of another race say the sameĀ Ā Ā Ā
Still, Millennials look to homeownership: 19% are currently looking or planning to buy a home within the next year, roughly unchanged from a March SurveyMonkey poll (17%). In comparison, 17% of Gen Z, 13% of Gen X, 7% of Boomers and 4% of the Silent Generation say the same. Renters are also twice as likely as current homeowners to be currently looking or planning to buy a home within the next year (20% vs. 9%). But overall, most adults donāt plan on purchasing a home any time soon:Ā
54% donāt have plans to buy a home within the next five years;Ā
17% plan to buy within the next five years;
14% plan to buy within the next three years;
13% are currently looking or plan to buy a home within the next year
Majority of adults look to real estate websites for home buyingĀ
Almost half (47%) of adults say theyād look to real estate websites (e.g. Zillow, Redfin, Trulia) if they were to relocate. Over 4 in 10 (46%) would rely on a real estate agent or broker, 41% would look to friends and family while few (21%) would rely on rental websites (e.g. Apartments.com, Rent.com) and just 14% would use online marketplaces (e.g. Facebook, Craigslist).Ā
57% of current homeowners say theyād rely on real estate websites ā more than 1.5x the number of renters who say the same (34%)Ā
Young adults look to family and friends: 47% of those 18-34 would rely on family or friends if they were to relocate vs. 40% of those 35-64 and 35% of those 65+
Adults in households earning less than $50K are more likely to rely on friends and family (47%) compared with those earning between $50K-$100K (40%) and those earning more than $100K (35%)Ā
Other housing market polls in the newsĀ
A May 2022 Gallup poll found that just 30% of Americans say now is a good time to buy a house, down 23 points from the previous year and setting a record-low since Gallup began asking the question in 1978.Ā Ā
Thatās all for this week! Thanks as always for reading.