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Builders may be focused on increasing construction to alleviate the affordable housing shortage, but buyers aren’t thinking so far ahead. Instead, low interest rates are what buyers really want even as the rates are at historic lows, according to Redfin. Lowering interest rates, providing tax credits, and easing lending standards are buyers’ top three picks for government intervention. These actions would reduce the barriers buyers face when pursuing homeownership and allow some with lower incomes to afford a home. And with prices rising due to a tight market, potential homebuyers welcome any help they could get to afford a home.
Interest rates are currently at historic lows, but 66% of first-time homebuyers would like them to be even lower according to a new survey conducted by Redfin.
The three most popular government actions among first-time homebuyers—lowering interest rates, providing tax credits, and easing lending standards—would all make homebuying more affordable in the short-term, but none would directly address the long-term shortage of affordable homes. Only 24% of respondents would like the government to encourage more home construction, even though it could increase the number of affordable homes for sale in the long-term.
First-time homebuyers with incomes under $100,000 were the most in favor of lower interest rates, with 69% selecting the option. Recently, the Federal Reserve Bank (which isn’t technically a branch of the government, but does set U.S. monetary policy) lowered interest rates in an effort to keep the economy growing. But, the Fed has acknowledged that the economic expansion hasn’t benefited everyone equally, and low-income families have been especially left behind. Chairman Powell stated in the past that the strength of economic indicators, “mask important disparities by income, race, and geography.”
