After rising steadily for six straight quarters, and peaking at 61% within the second quarter of 2021, the share of potential consumers actively looking for a house to purchase declined to 57% within the third quarter. This is a sign that fast-growing dwelling costs have begun to discourage a section of potential consumers from getting previous the strategy planning stage.
The share of potential consumers who’re actively looking for a house declined in three of the 4 Census areas between the second and third quarters of 2021: within the South, from 58% to 51%; within the West, from 72% to 65%; and within the Northeast, from 66% to 65%. The share was flat within the Midwest, at 50%.
Most consumers actively engaged within the buy course of are spending lengthy intervals of time looking for a house. Throughout every of the primary three quarters of 2021, 66% reported spending 3+ months trying. Earlier than COVID-19, within the closing quarter of 2019, the share stood at 57%.
* The Housing Trends Report (HTR) is a analysis product created by the NAHB Economics crew with the aim of measuring potential dwelling consumers’ perceptions concerning the availability and affordability of properties for-sale of their markets. The HTR is produced quarterly to trace modifications in consumers’ perceptions over time. All information are derived from nationwide polls of consultant samples of American adults carried out for NAHB by Morning Seek the advice of. Outcomes are seasonally adjusted. An outline of the ballot’s methodology and pattern traits may be discovered here. That is the fifth in a sequence of six posts highlighting outcomes for the third quarter of 2021. See earlier posts on plans to buy, new vs. existing preference, housing availability, and housing affordability.