American optimism in home buying has faltered slightly this year, according to a new poll
Americans are less optimistic about home buying than they were in 2013 and 2014, according to data released Monday.
Most Americans are still positive about home buying, with 69% saying it’s a good time to buy a house, according to a new Gallup poll. However, that’s down from 74% in 2013 and 2014. The latest number is similar to what Gallup measured from 2009 to 2012.
Even with the drop, Americans are more positive about the housing market now than they were between 2006 – when home values stopped rising and interest rates spiked – and 2008, when the housing bubble burst, according to Gallup.
The latest numbers are based on Gallup’s annual Economy and Personal Finance poll, conducted earlier this month. “The slightly less positive views of home buying may have been influenced by lackluster home sales earlier this year, as many parts of the country experienced unusually cold weather,” wrote Gallup’s Jeffrey M. Jones. “The newest data on home sales, released last week, show there was a surge in sales of existing homes in March.”
Home buyer confidence dropped the most in the western part of the country, with 64% saying it’s a good time to buy a home – down from an average of 75% in 2013-2014. There were smaller drops among residents of the East and South, while attitudes in the Midwest have stayed fairly steady, according to Gallup.
Consumer sentiment: Is now a good time to buy?
