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Americans have been dealing with uncertainty lately — and how they react to it may have a significant impact on the spring homebuying market.
Trump administration tariff policies have plunged the economy and stock market into uncertainty, a concern weighing heavily on consumers, according to the latest Inman-Dig Insights consumer survey. Among 3,000 Americans polled, 70 percent believe now is a bad time to buy a home, up 10 percent since January.
Americans were only beginning to grasp what “reciprocal” tariffs announced during the first week of April might mean for their wallets when, on April 9, the Trump administration announced it would pause the implementation of those tariffs for 90 days. The Dig Insights poll was conducted April 9-15.
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Growing worries over the potential surging cost of goods in response to tariffs, as well as expenses involved in homebuying, have more consumers thinking it’s a bad time to buy a home. The good news is, not all consumers are ready to completely throw in the towel when it comes to transacting, which is something agents may be able to latch onto.
Concerns over affordability
Americans are worried about high costs coming at them from all angles right now, whether it’s from housing or the rising prices of goods.
- As of April, 17 percent of consumers polled said they felt inflation most significantly when it comes to housing costs, compared to 23 percent of consumers who cited housing costs as the biggest impact of inflation in January.
- 67 percent of consumers polled in April said inflation was most significantly impacting them at the grocery store, compared to 56 percent of consumers in January.
The good news is that fewer consumers today feel the impact of inflation on housing, which has the potential to make them look more favorably on transacting. But, because consumers are also likely to prioritize buying groceries over meeting their homebuying goals, they may also be reserving more of their budget to go toward the rising cost of other goods now, which could potentially chip away at their buying power when it comes to a real estate transaction.
A larger share of consumers also now believe that average home prices and average mortgage rates will increase in the next year.
- 57 percent of consumers in April said they believe average home prices will increase over the next 12 months, compared to the 50 percent who believed in January that home prices would rise in the next year.
- 51 percent of consumer respondents in April said they think average mortgage rates will increase in the next 12 months, compared to 45 percent in January who said they think rates would rise during the same period.
Sentiment sours on homebuying; selling more stable
- In April, 70 percent of consumer respondents said that it was a bad time to buy a home in the U.S., compared to 60 percent in January.
- 30 percent of respondents in April said it was a good time to buy a home in America, compared to 40 percent in January.
Most consumers who feel it is a bad time to buy a house now cited unaffordable home prices (73 percent of respondents) and high mortgage rates (72 percent of respondents) as barriers to homebuying. Low inventory and difficulty in qualifying for a mortgage were also options that survey respondents could select in this “select all that apply” question.
About 4 percent of respondents (75 individuals) elected to write in a response to this survey question about why they felt it was a bad time to buy a home. Many of those respondents cited some version of market volatility, economic fluctuations, the Trump administration’s tariffs and the imminent threat of an economic recession or depression as reasons why it’s a bad time to buy a home in the U.S.
The responses reflect the intense anxiety and frustration a portion of Americans are experiencing right now and how it’s impacting their thoughts on transacting real estate.
Despite the distinctly negative responses around homebuying, consumers were less severe in their outlook on homeselling, though optimism was hard to find.
- 61 percent of consumer respondents said in April that they thought it was a good time to sell a home in the U.S., compared to 65 percent in January.
- Meanwhile, 39 percent of respondents said in April that it was a bad time to sell a home in the U.S., compared to 35 percent in January.
The difference in these responses shows the disconnect between buying and selling in the U.S. market today, which real estate agents will have to grapple with moving deeper into the spring market.
If Thursday’s existing-home sales report, which showed sales falling to their slowest pace since 2009, is a harbinger of what’s to come, agents will need to develop new strategies to pivot during this time of uncertainty.
About the Inman-Dig Insights Consumer Survey
The Inman-Dig Insights consumer survey was conducted from April 9 through April 15 to gauge the opinions and behaviors of Americans related to homebuying.
The survey sampled a diverse group of 3,000 American adults, who ranged in age from 24 to 65 and were employed either full-time or part-time. The participants were selected to produce a broadly representative breakdown by age, gender and region.
Statistical rigor was maintained throughout the study, and the results should be largely representative of attitudes held by U.S. adults with full- or part-time jobs. Both Inman and Dig Insights are majority-owned by Toronto-based Beringer Capital.
