Unaffordable Prices Hold Back Prospective Home Buyers

A recent Eye on Housing blog post reveals that 56% of home buyers who are actively engaged in the process of finding a home have spent upwards of three months searching unsuccessfully.

What is holding them back? Forty percent say they can’t find a home at a price they can afford and 32% each say they can’t find a home with the features they want or in a neighborhood they want.

The final question in NAHB's Housing Trends Report asks these veteran house hunters, who have been actively searching for a home for at least three months, about their future plans if the right home remains elusive in the months ahead:

• 48% will continue looking for the “right” home in the same preferred location
• 34% will expand the search area
• 23% is willing to accept a smaller/older home
• 19% might buy a more expensive home

This quarter marks the first time since the creation of the series that the share who will continue looking for the “right” home in the same location falls below the 50% mark, dropping from 60% in the first quarter of 2018 and 56% in the first quarter of 2019, to the latest 48%. Most home buyers, however, remain committed to homeownership — only 16% of those searching for a home for more than three months say they will give up trying until next year or later.