– Nearly eight out of 10
respondents believe buying a home is a good financial decision, despite
ongoing
challenges with the economy and housing market. That’s
according to the 2010
National Housing Pulse Survey, an annual report released by
the National
Association of Realtors.
The
survey, which measures how affordable housing issues
affect consumers, also found job security concerns to be the highest in
eight
years of sampling, with 70 percent of Americans saying that job layoffs
and
unemployment are a big problem in their area; eight in 10 cite these
issues as
a barrier to homeownership.
“The
real issue facing the nation’s economy right now is
that many Americans can’t find meaningful work to support
their families,” said
NAR President Vicki Cox Golder, owner of Vicki L. Cox &
Associates in
Tucson, Ariz. “While a job recovery is what’s
needed right now to get the
economy and housing market back on the right track, owning a home
continues to
be part of the American Dream and one of the best long-term investments
in your
future.”
economic uncertainty, 68 percent of those
surveyed still believe now is a good time to buy a home; while that
number is
down from last year (75 percent), it’s up from 2008 (66
percent) and 2007 (59
percent). Lower home prices and record-low mortgage interest rates may
be
attracting buyers to the housing market – more than
one-fourth of renters said
they are thinking more about buying a home than they were a year ago.
Sixty-three percent of renter respondents said that owning a home is a
priority
in their future, and nearly 40 percent said it was one of their highest
priorities.
Lower
home prices have improved affordability. In fact,
the percentage of renters who are worried that the cost of housing is
getting
so unaffordable that they will never be able to buy a home has
decreased
steadily since 2007, from 63 to 57 percent.
Despite
improved affordability, 79 percent of respondents
still consider having enough money for down payment and closing costs
to be
among of the biggest obstacles to buying a home. Another obstacle is a
lack of
confidence in their ability to be approved for a loan, reported by 73
percent
of respondents.
The
good news is that Americans are seeing more stability
in the real estate market. Nearly seven out of 10 believe that home
values have
stabilized in their area; the same number expects home sales to remain
about
the same through the end of the year.
While
more than half (51 percent) say foreclosures are a
problem in their area, the rate of foreclosures is also seen as
stabilizing; 51
percent say the rate is about the same as last year. Thirty-six percent
of
respondents cite the recession, loss of jobs and the poor economy as
the main
reason for the ongoing foreclosure problem. This has also led to a
slight
increase in the number of people who believe the federal government
should take
a more active role overseeing loans and mortgages (44 percent, up from
43
percent last year).
While
nearly seven out of 10 say it’s harder to sell a
home in their area today than it was a year ago, it’s less of
a concern from
last year when the number was 10 percentage points higher. This is most
likely
the result of lower home inventories.
2010 National Housing Pulse Survey is conducted by
American Strategies and Myers Research & Strategic Services for
NAR’s
Housing Opportunity Program. The telephone survey was among 1,209
adults living
in the 25 most populous metropolitan statistical areas. The study has a
margin
of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.