Weakness in the housing market itself may be blocking some home owners who would like to buy a new home, as 29 percent of current home owners said their greatest obstacle to purchasing another home is their inability to sell their current home. Beyond that, among current home owners who aspire to buy a new home, 7 percent feel trapped by a mortgage that exceeds the value of their current home, 14 percent fear that the value of a new home might fall after they make the investment, and 13 percent say home prices are just too high to allow them to buy a new home at this time.

Even amid a housing market downturn, 40 percent of respondents said their home is their most valuable investment, twice the number who cite any other single investment - 401k accounts, savings accounts and CDs, stocks and bonds, or mutual funds - as their leading family investment.