Renters who would like to be buy say that home affordability is the number one issue on their mind when it comes to buying a home, according to Redfin’s latest survey…(Redfin)
- Nearly one-third (32%) of renters nationwide say they can’t afford to buy a home where they want to live, while 30% are unable to save for a down payment.
- The third most popular concern (20%) was buying would be more expensive than their rent.
NOTE: The only issue in the top five that was not financial related was number four with 17% of rents saying they couldn’t find a home to buy
Breaking down the financial concerns, debt just barely beat out rising home prices as the biggest issue holding renters back from buying…
- Almost half (45%) of renters said debt was the number one issue holding them back from buying a home.
- 44% of renters said the biggest obstacle for them buying a home was homes prices being too high in the area they were interest.
Daryl Fairweather, Redfin Chief Economist, said first-time homebuyers are being hurt the most by rising rates and prices. However, the coming cooldown will make the market more attractive…
- “But the housing market is seeing early signs of a cooldown, which could benefit first-time homebuyers…Mortgage rates are rising fast, which is a double-edged sword: Higher rates mean higher monthly mortgage payments, but they will also eventually ease competition for homes, making it so fewer houses sell above their asking price.”
FYI: This how much rising mortgage rates are costing people…
As I have said many times before, and will continue to say, housing is a zero sum game when it comes to buyers and sellers. Rising home prices are great for homeowners and horrible for home buyers and vice versa. As the housing market cools and prices began to slow and maybe even retract, the press will report this like it is bad for the housing market. It will be bad for homeowners but it will also be great for home buyers. Housing is always a sort of equilibrium which sometimes gets lost because the press tends to focus on the housing market from a homeowners perspective.
