Posed with the hypothetical question of whether they could buy their current home in today’s market, 38 percent of homeowners reportedly could not. That’s according to a new study by Redfin, which asked roughly 3,000 U.S. residents the question in a survey conducted by Qualtrics in February 2024.
Nearly three in five homeowners who answered this question have lived in their home for at least 10 years, and another 21 percent have lived in their home for at least five years.
“Rising home prices are a double-edged sword. On the one hand, Americans who already own homes benefit from rising values and they can consider themselves lucky they broke into the housing market while they could still afford it.” said Redfin Senior Economist Elijah de la Campa. “On the other hand, price appreciation makes the prospect of buying a new home daunting or even impossible for many people who want to move. Prices have risen enough that a similar home and location would be much pricier than a home someone already owns–even accounting for inflation. Add elevated mortgage rates to the equation, and moving up to a bigger, better home is even more costly and perhaps out of reach.”
Baby boomers—who are more likely to have bought their home a long time ago for a much lower price—are least likely to be able to afford their current home if they were to buy it today.
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