Poll Shows Fewer Active Homebuyers

New poll data from the fourth quarter of 2018 finds that fewer Americans were planning on buying a home within the next 12 months than they were the year before.

The share of adults planning a home purchase dropped to 13 percent, down 11 percent annually. The share of buyers actively in the homebuying process was 54 percent, down 13 percent annually, per the National Association of Home Builders' data. By generation, Millennials are most likely to be actively in the homebuying process, and account for 61 percent of prospective buyers.

Buyers who are in the midst of trying to buy a home are spending significant amounts of time looking. In the final quarter of 2018, 58 percent said they have already spent at least three months searching. That share is somewhat smaller than the 62 percent who had spent that much time looking in the final quarter of 2017. Future polls will determine if there is a trend toward fewer people spending upwards of three months searching for a home.

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