Roughly 70% of Americans say that now is not a good time to buy a home, especially as rising mortgage rates push affordability further out of reach and low inventory sustains elevated buyer competition. Buyers are also contending with inflated prices for consumer goods, and as talks of a recession mount, many are worried that they could lose their jobs within the next 12 months, Realtor.com reports.
Nearly half of all respondents expect home prices to continue rising throughout the remainder of 2022, prolonging a seller’s market that leaves the majority of buyers empty-handed.
“Homebuyers in the U.S. are the most unhappy they have been since we started this survey. That unhappiness is driven by the pace of house price appreciation, the rise in mortgage rates, and the significant increase in inflation,” says Fannie Mae’s chief economist, Doug Duncan. Many folks also “feel the economy is on the wrong track” as inflation persists.
While it might not be a great time to buy, about three-quarters of those surveyed, 76%, believe it’s a good time to sell a home.
“If you have a house that you own today … you have a lot of equity,” says Duncan. “The key is if you have a place to go.”
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