High Home Prices Are Leading More Buyers To Give Up Home Search

An earlier post revealed that 67% of buyers who were actively engaged in the process of finding a home in the 1st quarter of 2022 have spent 3+ months searching for a home without success. By far, the most common reason these long-term searchers cite for not having bought by now is their inability to find an affordable home (48%).  In distant second place is their inability to find a desirable neighborhood (34%), followed by the inability to find a home with desirable features (31%), and being outbid by other buyers (29%).

When asked what they are most likely to do next if still unable to find a home in the next few months, most (52%) active buyers searching for 3+ months said they will continue looking for the ‘right’ home in the same location.  Nineteen percent will buy a more expensive home (down from 26% a quarter earlier), and 20% will accept a smaller/older home (also down from 26%).

Meanwhile, the share who plan to give up their home search until next year or later is showing a clear upward trend, rising from 20% in the 2nd quarter of 2021, to 22% in the third, 23% in the fourth, and now 25% in the first quarter of 2022.

**Results come from the Housing Trends Report (HTR) – a research product created by the NAHB Economics team with the goal of measuring prospective home buyers’ perceptions about the availability and affordability of homes for-sale in their markets.  The HTR is produced quarterly to track changes in buyers’ perceptions over time.  All data are derived from national polls of representative samples of American adults conducted for NAHB by Morning Consult.  Results are seasonally adjusted.  A description of the poll’s methodology and sample characteristics can be found here.  This is the final post in a series of six posts highlighting results for the 1st quarter of 2022. See previous posts on plans to buy and new vs. existing preference, housing availability, and housing affordability.

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