Eye On Housing
An earlier post revealed that a record 70% of buyers who were actively engaged in the process of finding a home in the third quarter of 2022 have spent 3+ months searching for a home without success. Those buyers also have higher incomes and education levels than in previous quarters. The most common reason these long-term searchers cite for not… Read More ›
Tag Archive for ‘housing trends report’
More Prospective Buyers Are Actively Searching for a Home
Higher interest rates are pricing out some (not all) buyers, but also transforming remaining prospects into active buyers. In the third quarter of 2022, 59% of prospective buyers had moved beyond the planning phase and become fully engaged in the buying process, up from 46% in the first quarter and 49% in the second quarter of the year. The share… Read More ›
Affordability Expectations Improve as the Typical Buyer Changes
Prospective buyers in the third quarter of 2022 are more likely to have higher levels of income and education than earlier in the year. This helps explain why affordability expectations have improved. In the third quarter of 2022, 69% of buyers could only afford a minority of homes for sale in their markets, a much lower share than in the… Read More ›
Buyers’ Expectations of Housing Availability Continue to Improve
For the second straight quarter, more prospective buyers expect housing availability to improve. In the third quarter of 2022, 37% of buyers expect the home search to get easier in the months ahead, up from 17% and 22% in the first and second quarters of the year, respectively. More for-sale inventory and less competition from buyers priced-out by higher mortgage… Read More ›
More Buyers Taking a Look at New Construction
After bottoming out at 19% in the first quarter of 2022, the popularity of new homes continues to rebound, as the share of buyers looking for new construction rose to 21% and 27% in the second and third quarters of the year, respectively. A possible factor behind this trend is that the inventory of new homes for-sale is 25% higher… Read More ›
Prospect of Higher Rates Leads Some to Consider Buying a Home
The share of adults planning a home purchase within a year rose to 15% in the third quarter of 2022, up from 13% in the first half of the year. The marginal increase suggests that the prospect of higher mortgage rates in the near term may be leading a small segment of consumers to consider the purchase of a home… Read More ›
Percent Share of 5,000+ Square Foot Homes Rises in 2021
According to the annual data from the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction (SOC), the share of new homes started with 5,000 square feet or more of living space stood at 2.90 percent in 2021, up from 2.50 percent in 2020. A total of 33,000 5,000+ square-foot homes were started in 2021, compared to 25,000 in 2020. The increase in number and share… Read More ›
High Home Prices Is Main Reason Active Buyers Can’t Seal the Deal
An earlier post revealed that 63% of buyers who were actively engaged in the process of finding a home in the 2nd quarter of 2022 have spent 3+ months searching for a home without success. The most common reason these long-term searchers cite for not having bought by now is their inability to find an affordable home (43%). In second… Read More ›
More Prospective Buyers Are Actively Searching for a Home
The share of prospective home buyers who are actively engaged in the process to buy a home rose to 49% in the second quarter of 2022, after declining for three straight quarters. The pivot is likely driven by less competition from buyers who have exited the market, which has encouraged many of those remaining to become active buyers. Except for… Read More ›
The Mix of Home Buyers Is Changing, Leading to Improved Affordability
For the first time since 2020, affordability expectations improved in the second quarter of 2022. After rising steadily for five straight quarters, the share of buyers who can only afford a minority of the homes for sale in their markets declined to 77%, down from 81% a quarter earlier. Conversely, the share able to afford at least half the homes… Read More ›