Eye On Housing
The share of adults planning a home purchase within 12 months has fallen for two consecutive quarters, going from 17% in the second quarter of 2021, to 16% and 15% in the third and fourth quarter of the year, respectively. The downward trend provides evidence that higher home prices and low housing availability (relative to demand) are leading some Americans… Read More ›
An earlier post revealed that 66% of buyers who were actively engaged in the process of finding a home in the third quarter of 2021 have spent 3+ months searching for a home without success. For only the third time in this series history, the top reason these long-time searchers haven’t pulled the trigger is not because they can’t find… Read More ›
After growing steadily for six straight quarters, and peaking at 61% in the second quarter of 2021, the share of prospective buyers actively trying to find a home to buy declined to 57% in the third quarter. This is an indication that fast-growing home prices have begun to discourage a segment of potential buyers from getting past the planning stage…. Read More ›
In the third quarter of 2021, 73% of buyers estimate they can afford less than half the homes available for-sale in their markets. That share is up from 71% the prior quarter, 65% the quarter before that, and 63% in the final quarter of 2020. This steady increase is evidence that double-digit increases in home prices have eroded the positive… Read More ›
In the first quarter of 2018, only 15% of prospective buyers were looking for a newly built home. The onset of COVID-19 propelled that share up to 42% by the final quarter of 2020, but strong gains in new home prices have driven it down for the last three quarters, reaching 32% in the third quarter of 2021. Meanwhile, the… Read More ›
After hitting a low of 10% in the first quarter of 2020, the share of adults planning a home purchase within a year rose for five consecutive quarters, peaking at 17% in the second quarter of 2021. The desire for homeownership cooled off in the third quarter, when the share slid back to 16%. Meanwhile, the share of prospective buyers… Read More ›
An earlier post revealed that 66% of buyers who were actively engaged in the process of finding a home in the second quarter of 2021 have spent upwards of 3 months searching for a home without success. For two quarters recently (Q4 2020 and Q1 2021), ‘getting outbid by other offers’ was the most common reason these long-time searchers could… Read More ›
Of the 17% of American adults considering a future home purchase in the second quarter of 2021, 61% have moved beyond planning and are already actively trying to find one to buy. This share of active buyers has increased for six straight quarters, a trend that began after the final quarter of 2019 when it stood at 43%. In the… Read More ›
In the final quarter of 2019, a series-high of 82% of prospective buyers could afford less than half the homes available in their markets. The share went on to decline throughout 2020 (i.e. affordability perceptions improved), reaching 63% by the final quarter of that year. But affordability expectations have worsened recently. In the first and second quarters of 2021, the… Read More ›
In the first quarter of 2018, the starting point of the Housing Trends Report (HTR), only 16% of buyers expected easier availability for a home in the months ahead. The share soared to 36% by the final quarter of 2020 (during the COVID-19 pandemic), but then went on to decline to 33% and 28%, respectively, in the first two quarters… Read More ›