The American dream of homeownership is feeling increasingly like a fantasy for some.
Gallup’s annual housing market survey, released Wednesday, paints a pessimistic picture of the real estate market. Most Americans view current market conditions as decidedly unfavorable, the survey concluded, and they are bracing for further price increases in the coming year.
The responses of more than 1,000 American adults were included in Gallup’s sample for its annual Economy and Personal Finance survey. The survey measures housing market perceptions and home-buying intentions across the country.
Roughly one third of respondents reported renting their homes.
Of that cohort, the percentage for that plan to buy a home within five or 10 years was just 53% — the lowest ever recorded by Gallup. Also, 45% of respondents don’t expect to buy a home in the foreseeable future. More than half said they expect home prices to increase this year.
The results come at the same time as widespread economic uncertainty and lackluster spring sales reported by the National Association of Realtors. Home sales in March declined by the most since November 2022.
There are plenty of reasons why a renter may not want to become a homeowner — like convenience, bad credit, an unstable job or just simple timing. But the cost of homeownership, including the down payment, is a bigger home-buying barrier for renters than it has been in the past, the survey revealed.
Only 11% of renters cited convenience as their reason for renting, suggesting not renting today is largely an economic choice, rather than a preferential one.
Among US adults who currently rent their home, 68% say they do so because they can’t afford to buy or do not have enough money for a down payment. When Gallup asked this question in 2013, just 45% gave this reason.
Americans remain broadly skeptical about the housing market, as they have been since 2022, with a majority — 72% — answering that it’s a bad time to buy a house. But the Gallup data found real divides in perceptions when sorted by region and politics.
East Coasters, the survey found, are more likely to expect home prices to rise than other regions. Republicans answered the survey with significantly more optimism than their counterparts — 33% of Republicans surveyed said that now is a good time to buy a home, compared to just 18% last year. This cohort’s expectations for rising home prices also dropped dramatically, from 69% in 2024 to 48% this year.
Despite declines from their 2022 highs, home prices remain head and shoulders above levels from a decade ago. The financial squeeze of high prices, elevated mortgage rates and an uncertain economy has effectively locked out a segment of Americans from looking forward to homeownership.
Despite this pessimism, a large proportion of Americans — 37% — still believe that real estate is the best long-term investment a person can make.