Prospective Buyers Still Plan to Purchase in 2021

The latest report from the National Association of Home Builders found an increasing number of Americans planning to purchase a home within the next year. NAHB’s Housing Trends Report says 15% of survey respondents were planning to buy a home in the next 12 months last quarter. This continues the steady uptick throughout 2020, which started with only 10% planning a move in the next year. The 15% share is the highest rate since the first quarter of 2018. Year over year, the number jumped 4%, making it the largest annual gain in the history of the report.

Meanwhile, the share of prospective buyers who would be purchasing a home for the first time declined slightly in the year ended in Qtr4’20, down from 63% to 61%.

Between the fourth quarters of 2019 and 2020, the share of Millennials planning a home purchase rose eight points to 27%. The share increased 6 points to 18% among Gen X’ers, 3 points to 16% among Gen Z, and was flat at 5% among Boomers. Geographically, the share of adults with plans to buy a home rose in all four regions during this period, led by the Northeast (up 9 points to 19%) and the West (up 6 points to 18%).

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