Polling 2,051 U.S. adults at the end of 2022, NerdWallet found in a recent survey that 83% of Americans say buying a home is a priority for them. The survey also found that hopeful buyers are optimistic of home prices. Of the 1 in 9 Americans who plan to buy in the next 12 months, they hope to spend $269,200 on average.
The median anticipated spending for these buyers was $200,000, which is well below the typical home price of $379,100 from October 2022, according to the National Association of Realtors. Similarly, the survey noted that 86% of Americans say U.S. homes currently for sale are overpriced.
Additionally, according to the survey, 3 in 5 Americans say the current mortgage rates are unprecedented, especially compared with the very low rates of 2020 and 2021. However, Freddie Mac data shares that 30-year mortgages have averaged 7.75% over the last 50 years.
Seventy percent of Americans who planned to purchase a home in 2022 were unsuccessful, with the top reasons including the offer they made did not go under contract (26%), they postponed or canceled plans to buy because the available homes were unaffordable (26%), or they postponed or canceled plans to buy because there wasn’t available homes to fit their needs. Outside of discouraged buyers, 60% of Americans say buying a home isn’t the measure of achievement it once was, the survey found.
Entering the new year, 32% of Americans feel worse about their ability to purchase a home in 2023 than in 2022—even if they don’t plan to buy. The negative outlook is up from 25% the previous year, noting that the worsening economy (58%), mortgage rates (57%), and higher home prices (57%) are the top reasons to feel negatively about home buying prospects.
Up from 20% for the last two years, 28% of non-homeowners say the current economy is preventing them from pursing homeownership. And 67% of Americans believe a housing market crash will happen in the next three years, the survey says.
In addition to a worsening economy and higher home prices and mortgage rates, the survey found that not having enough money saved for a down payment and having a low income and credit score were two frequent obstacles for future home buyers, according to this year and previous years’ surveys.
