Poll: Americans Say There Has Never Been a Worse Time to Buy a House

The share of Americans who say now is a good time to buy a house hit an all-time low of 25 percent, according to the results of a survey released Monday by Fannie Mae.

The share who say it is a bad time to buy rose to 70 percent. The survey showed that Americans also grew more worried about job stability and increasingly expect mortgage interest rates to rise.

“Younger consumers – more so than other groups – expect home prices to rise even further, and they also reported a greater sense of macroeconomic pessimism,” said Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae’s chief economist.

The percentage saying that it is a good time to sell fell to 69 percent from 76 percent in December. The share saying it is a bad time to sell rose from 17 percent to 22 percent.

Additional findings from Fannie Mae:

• Home Price Expectations: The percentage of respondents who say home prices will go up in the next 12 months decreased from 44 percent to 43 percent, while the percentage who say home prices will go down decreased from 19 percent to 14 percent. The share who think home prices will stay the same increased from 30 percent to 35 percent. As a result, the net share of Americans who say home prices will go up increased 4 percentage points month over month.
• Mortgage Rate Expectations: The percentage of respondents who say mortgage rates will go down in the next 12 months remained unchanged at 4 percent, while the percentage who expect mortgage rates to go up increased from 56 percent to 58 percent. The share who think mortgage rates will stay the same decreased from 30 percent to 28 percent. As a result, the net share of Americans who say mortgage rates will go down over the next 12 months decreased 2 percentage points month over month.
• Job Concerns: The percentage of respondents who say they are not concerned about losing their job in the next 12 months decreased from 82 percent to 78 percent, while the percentage who say they are concerned increased from 16 percent to 17 percent. As a result, the net share of Americans who say they are not concerned about losing their job decreased 5 percentage points month over month.
• Household Income: The percentage of respondents who say their household income is significantly higher than it was 12 months ago remained increased from 23 percent to 26 percent, while the percentage who say their household income is significantly lower decreased from 17 percent to 14 percent. The percentage who say their household income is about the same decreased from 59 percent to 56 percent. As a result, the net share of those who say their household income is significantly higher than it was 12 months ago increased 6 percentage points month over month.

Fannie Mae’s composite housing market sentiment index fell 2.4 points to 71.8, the lowest reading since May of 2020.

“Additionally, while the younger respondents are typically the most optimistic about their future finances, this month their sense of optimism around their personal financial situation declined. All of this points back to the current lack of affordable housing stock, as younger generations appear to be feeling it particularly acutely and, absent an uptick in supply, may have their homeownership aspirations delayed. On the whole, the latest HPSI results are consistent with our forecast of slowing housing activity in the coming year,” Duncan said.