Record high home prices, rising mortgage interest rates and a shortage of available housing have raised serious concerns about market conditions among more than 600 consumers interviewed for the Houston Association of REALTORS’ (HAR.com’s) latest consumer survey.
71% of respondents to HAR.com’s latest ‘2022 Consumer Sentiment and Home Affordability Survey,’ stated that now is “a bad time to buy a home in Houston.” On the question of affordability, with local home prices at the highest of all time, 70% of those surveyed believe it is affordable to live in the Houston area. However, 85% of respondents believe it is less affordable to live in the Houston area now compared to before the coronavirus pandemic.
The data is compiled via HAR.com’s Consumer Research Panel, made up of homebuyers, sellers, owners and renters in the area who are asked about current market conditions.
Additional key findings:
– Among those consumers that recently purchased a home, 39% said they found it difficult to come up with their down payment.
– Only 41% said they were aware of down payment assistance programs that are available to help make buying a home more financially manageable.
– Soaring prices and rising interest rates have prompted some would-be homebuyers to postpone their purchase plans with many turning to rental properties for housing.
– Of those surveyed, 79% that stopped searching for a home said they did so because they were priced out of the market.
– The survey found that 79% of renters would rather own their home, with most motivated by a 40% increase in rental prices since 2014.
– Nevertheless, there remains optimism among renters. Asked about timing, 70% of renters stated that they are likely to purchase a home in the next two years.
The takeaway:
“It’s easy to get bogged down in the market data, so HAR likes to speak directly with consumers to better understand what they are thinking and observing as they navigate the competitive Houston housing market,” said HAR Chair Jennifer Wauhob with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Gary Greene. HAR.com’s Consumer Research Panel has been doing this excellent work for 11 years, and this latest survey provides tremendous insights into the mindset of consumers, enabling real estate professionals like myself to better serve their needs going forward.”
The HAR.com Consumer Research Panel, working in partnership with the WAV Group, was established in 2011 and has conducted several surveys ranging from legislative priorities, lifestyle search, transaction management, customized real estate search, market statistics, real estate agent satisfaction and rental trends.
The panel consists largely of men and women aged 25-54, well-educated with a strong representation of homeowners and buyers geographically representative of the Houston area.
Complete results of the 2022 Consumer Sentiment and Home Affordability Survey are available here.
