Share of Aspiring Buyers Cut in Half

In the fourth quarter of 2018, new data show that the share of American adults planning to buy a home within the next 12 months dropped 11 percent annually.

Whereas 24 percent of adults wanted to buy in Q4 of 2017, only 13 percent did in Q4 2018. The data comes from the National Association of Home Builders' latest Housing Trends Report (HTR), which measures prospective homebuyers’ perceptions about the availability and affordability of local for-sale homes. As well, the share of first-time buyers intending to buy within the next 12 months trended down--from 60 percent in Q4 2017 to 53 percent in Q4 2018.

The intention to buy is inversely related to age: whereas 22 percent of Millennials have plans to purchase a home in the next year, only 14 percent of Gen X’ers, 7 percent of Boomers, and 4 percent Seniors share that goal. Most of the 22 percent of Millennials planning a home purchase are first-time home buyers (77 percent). Among prospective Gen X and Boomer buyers, 47 percent and 28 percent, respectively, would be buying a home for the first time.

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