Homebuyers Are Searching Longer for the Right House

Though buyer demand for new homes is increasing, Americans are moving much less than they did in previous decades. And when potential homebuyers do decide to make the leap, they are not in a terrible rush, according to the NAHB Housing Trends Report. Despite low mortgage rates and a strong job market, buyers are not jumping on the first home they see: Only 43 percent of American adults thinking about buying a home in the final months of 2019 were actively engaged in the process, a full 11 percent decline from the same time last year. Additionally, over 60 percent of active homebuyers spent three months or more looking for their new home, which represents the fourth year of increases in search time year-over-year.

Of the 11% of American adults considering a home purchase in the final quarter of 2019, only 43% reported being actively engaged in the process to find and buy a home. A year earlier, the comparable share of active buyers was a much stronger 54%. This finding suggests that mortgage interest rates steadily below 4.0% in recent months have not motivated more prospective buyers to get started trying to find a home to buy.

Across generations, 46% of Millennial prospective buyers are actively looking for a home to buy, along with 43% of Gen X buyers, 41% of Gen Z buyers, and 37% of Boomer buyers. Across regions, prospective buyers in the Northeast are the most likely to already be actively searching for a home (49%), followed by those in the South (43%), West (41%), and Midwest (39%).

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