Higher home prices and low housing availability are leading some Americans to postpone their homeownership plans, according to the NAHB’s Housing Trends Report. The share of adults planning to purchase a home within 12 months fell for the second consecutive quarter in the fourth quarter to 15%.
The share of these prospective buyers who are purchasing a home for the first time dropped for the first time since mid-2020. In the final quarter of 2021 it was 63%, compared to 65% a quarter earlier.
The share of adults with plans to buy a home was lower in the final quarter of 2021 than earlier in the year in all regions of the country, except in the Midwest (where it has been flat at 13% since the second quarter). Across generations, buying plans dropped significantly among Gen Xers, from 18% to 12%, during the year ended in quarter 4, 2021.
Over half of prospective buyers in every region are first-timers. Between the third and fourth quarters of 2021, the share rose from 65% to 70% in the Northeast, but declined from 69% to 60% in the Midwest.
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