Fast-growing home prices across the U.S. are lowering the share of prospective buyers actively searching for homes, says the NAHB’s Eye on Housing. In the third quarter of 2021, the national percentage of active home buyers dropped to 57% compared to the previous quarter’s reported 61% peak total. Many potential buyers are becoming discouraged by longer searching periods with low housing supply as well as rising prices making the actual buying process less affordable.
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.
The share of prospective buyers who are actively searching for a home declined in three of the four Census regions between the second and third quarters of 2021: in the South, from 58% to 51%; in the West, from 72% to 65%; and in the Northeast, from 66% to 65%. The share was flat in the Midwest, at 50%.
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