WASHINGTON—A new study confirms what every home shopper knows all too well—there is a lot of pessimism when it comes to the ability to buy a house.
The latest example can be found in an in-depth consumer survey from Fannie Mae that explores consumers’ understanding of the mortgage process, their confidence navigating it, and the obstacles and opportunities consumers face in obtaining housing that’s affordable.
“We spoke to a nationally representative sample of over 3,000 U.S. adults who are the financial decisionmakers for their households,” Fannie Mae explained. “We asked about a wide range of topics, including: consumers’ understanding of basic mortgage requirements; their credit score knowledge; their awareness / use of homebuyer resources, including down payment assistance options; their most-trusted information sources; their experience with and thoughts on the digital mortgage process; their perspectives on homeownership and the current housing market; and their current financial situations and future homeownership aspirations, among many others.”
Key Findings
Among the findings:
- Consumers are extremely pessimistic about homebuying conditions, and they continue to point to unaffordability, including high mortgage rates and high home prices, as the primary reason why.
- However, they still want to own a home. An overwhelming 92% of consumers say owning a home is important to them; and 74% say they’re planning to buy on their next move, Fannie Mae reported.
- Knowledge of what it takes to finance a home is mixed. While a significant (and growing) majority of consumers are aware of their credit score, 32% don’t know or significantly overestimate the minimum credit score required to qualify for a typical mortgage. Further, approximately 90% of consumers overstate or don’t know the minimum down payment required, the survey found
- These gaps may help explain why less than half of consumers feel confident going through the mortgage process, including many who plan to buy in the next three years.
- Mortgage lenders and real estate professionals were cited as the most trusted resources of information, and 68% of consumers said they would be at least somewhat confident speaking with a lender, Fannie Mae found.