As the housing correction continues, most Americans have a gloomy outlook for the market’s future.
A ConsumerAffairs survey found that 78% of Americans expect the housing market to crash and soon. More than half of baby boomers said they believe 2023 will bring a housing crisis.
Most Zoomers went so far as to say they’re hoping for one– 84% want a market crash because they believe it will help them buy their first home.
Gen Zers overwhelmingly want to own their own homes, with 59% identifying homeownership as a sign of success. But many are worried they may never be able to afford a home if prices continue rising as they have in the last two years.
“Non-homeowners cite insufficient income, high home prices, and not being able to afford a down payment or closing costs as the most common barriers to becoming a homeowner,” Bankrate.com’s chief financial analyst, Greg McBride, said.
“High, and rising, home prices can contribute to the feelings of not having enough income or savings accumulated to buy a house.”
Outside of Gen Z, many buyers are hoping for a correction rather than a full-on crash, but they continue to feel that the housing market is in a bad place.
Fannie Mae’s Housing Sentiment Survey saw declines for the sixth straight month in August, with both buyers and sellers reporting negative feelings about the market.
The bad news for Zoomers is that most analysts see a correction coming, not a crash.
“There are very real concerns that housing will continue to be hit hard by mortgage rates now well above 6%, though with average home equity levels very high, a housing crisis is very unlikely,” investment strategist Louis Navellier told Business Insider.
“Out of all the things to worry about in the economy, a housing crash is not one of them,” Daryl Fairweather, chief economist for Redfin, told US News.
“Even when mortgage rates were up to 5.7%, it’s not like prices fell through the roof then, and now mortgage rates are down to 4.99%. So it seems like the housing market has already kind of taken that first kind of hard hit of what this new economy is bringing, and as long as things don’t get significantly worse, the housing market is going to be just fine with this.”
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