Unsuccessful Would-Be Home Buyers Are Increasingly Dropping Out of the Process

A closer look at the National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) latest Housing Trend Report (HTR) reveals that 67% of buyers who were actively engaged in the process of finding a home in 2022 Q1 have spent 3+ months searching for a home without success.

According to the HTR, the reason for potential homebuyers’ lack of success breaks down to four common issues:

1. Forty-eight percent of respondents said it was their inability to find an affordable home.
2. Thirty-four percent said it was their inability to find a desirable neighborhood.
3. Thirty-one percent said their inability to find a home with desirable features.
4. Twenty-nine percent said they were simply outbid by other buyers.

The HTR then asked, “What are you going to do if you can’t find that ‘right’ house in the next couple of months?” Fifty-two percent indicated that they would continue to keep looking and in the same location. Nineteen percent said they would consider buying a more expensive home (down from 26% in the previous HTR), while 20% said they would consider a smaller/older home (also down 26% from the previous HTR).

However, there is an upward trend in the number of buyers who are saying they plan to give up their home search until next year or later. In 2021 Q2, the percentage of buyers dropping out of home buying race was at 20%; in 2021 Q3 it rose to 22%; in 2021 Q4 it rose to 23%; and in 2022 Q1 it topped 25%.