Americans’ views of housing market worst ever recorded: Gallup

by Adam Barnes - 05/16/23 9:07 AM ET

FILE – A real estate sign stands outside of a recently sold home on Feb. 21, 2023, in Valrico, Fla. Americans eager to buy a home this spring, beware: It’s slim pickings out there. The number of U.S. homes on the market is at near-historic lows, which could dim would-be buyers’ prospects for finding a house or condo and fuel competition for the most affordable properties, economists say. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)

Americans’ views of the housing market hit an all-time low this year, with more than three-quarters saying it’s a bad time to buy a home, according to a new poll.

Gallup’s annual Economy and Personal Finance poll found that just 21 percent of U.S. adults believe it’s a good time to buy a home — marking only the second time since the poll’s 1978 inception that fewer than half of survey respondents believed it was a good time to buy.

The highest confidence level in the poll’s history was recorded in 2003 before falling off in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis.

The previous record-low was set last year, when close to 30 percent of those surveyed said it was a good time to buy a home.

The poll’s results are based on telephone interviews conducted between April 3-25 with a random sample of 1,013 adults from all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

Home prices and mortgage rates have soared in the past two years, while the Federal Reserve battled growing inflation with a series of jumbo interest rate hikes.

The effects of the Fed’s rate increases trickled down into the housing market and sent mortgage rates sailing past 7 percent between spring and winter in 2022.

But rates have moderated and are currently hovering around 6.3 percent, and housing economists expect the Fed to pause rate increases in the current cycle, as inflation shows signs of abating.

As the housing market has cooled, so have Americans expectations for home values in their areas, the Gallup poll found. Last year, 70 percent predicted home prices in their area would increase in the next year, and just 56 percent hold that view this year.

However, the poll found that expectations for home values still trounce numbers recorded following the housing market crash from 2009-12, when between 22-34 percent thought home values would increase.

Despite current views on whether it is a good time to buy a house, many Americans still believe real estate is the best long-term investment, according to a separate Gallup poll released last week. The poll found 34 percent of Americans holding that view, which is on par with the typical year.

Still, this marked a significant drop off from record-breaking levels set the previous year, when nearly half said real estate was the best long-term investment.