Homebuyer Outlook Begins to Improve

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reports that 22% of homebuyers expect their search to get easier over the next year, up from 16% in 2018.

The numbers, coming from NAHB’s Housing Trends Report from the first quarter of 2019, also show that Millennials are the most likely to be optimistic about their home search over the coming year (23%), followed by Gen X (22%), Seniors (20%), and Boomers (18%). Buyers in the Midwest and Northeast are also more optimistic than their counterparts across the country.

Another way to explore buyer’s perceptions about the inventory of housing available in their markets is to ask how the number of for-sale homes (that they like and can afford) is changing compared to three months earlier. In the first quarter of 2019, 30% of buyers reported seeing more such homes on the market, a slight improvement over the 26% reporting increases a year earlier.

PB Topical Ref