Non-Homeowners’ 5-Year Homebuying Confidence Falls to 19% as Affordability Crisis Deepens
Updated
Updated · Real Estate News · Jul 26
Non-Homeowners’ 5-Year Homebuying Confidence Falls to 19% as Affordability Crisis Deepens
2 articles · Updated · Real Estate News · Jul 26
Summary
Just 19% of U.S. non-homeowners say they expect to buy a home within five years, down from 41% to 49% in 2013-2018 and the lowest level Gallup has recorded.
Monthly payments on a median-priced home have jumped from about $1,200 in 2020 to more than $2,500, pushing the income needed to carry that cost from under $70,000 to above $130,000.
Households earning $75,000 can now afford only 21% of listings nationally, versus nearly 50% before the pandemic, while home sales have fallen to a 30-year low.
The squeeze contrasts with existing owners’ gains: home values have risen 75% to 90% over the past decade, total homeowner equity has reached $35 trillion, and the average mortgage holder has about $302,000 in equity.
That gap is raising concerns about long-term market health, with younger first-time buyers pulling back and NAR’s listing-income alignment score still at 74.9%, nearly 10 points below its pre-pandemic level.