How Do Homebuyers Feel About Housing Affordability?

Before the pandemic, homebuyers felt optimistic about housing availability even as the housing shortage deepened across the country, according to NAHB. But one thing potential homebuyers continued to fret over was the price of housing. Seventy-eight percent of respondents said that they can afford fewer than half the homes available in their markets, and it’s not just young adults starting their careers. This sentiment spans the generations and geography.

While home buyers report slightly more optimistic expectations for future housing availability (see earlier post) in the first quarter of 2020, there is no commensurate improvement in their outlook for affordability. In fact, 78% say they can afford fewer than half the homes available in their markets, the same share as a year earlier. This in turn means that only 23% of buyers can afford half or more of the homes for-sale in their markets, essentially unchanged from a year earlier (22%).

At least 75% of buyers in each of the four generations can afford fewer than half the homes for sale where they live. Geographically, 74% to 80% of buyers in every region of the country say they can afford under half of the homes available in their areas.

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