Builders Are Confident, So Why Aren't Homebuyers?

Builder confidence may be up, but buyers still remain wary. Only one-fifth of buyers say they can afford over half the houses available where they live. Unsurprisingly, Millennials and Gen Z are the two generations hit hardest by high housing costs, but Gen X and Boomers are still feeling the squeeze.

Despite help from the lowest mortgage rates in three years, an NAHB poll* conducted in the third quarter of 2019 shows that a strong majority of prospective home buyers continue to have poor expectations about being able to afford the homes for-sale in their markets. In fact, 80% say they can afford fewer than half the homes currently available where they live, essentially the same share as a year earlier (79%). This in turn means that only a fraction of buyers (20%) can afford half or more of the homes for-sale in their markets.

The two generations most likely to be affected by affordability constraints are Gen Z and Millennials: 81% and 84%, respectively, say they can afford fewer than half the homes available for-sale. The shares are only slightly smaller among Gen X (76%) and Boomer (77%) buyers. Geographically, more than three out of every four buyers in every region of the country say they can afford under half of the homes available in their areas.

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