As the economy makes gradual steps in its recovery effort and the unemployment rate is slowly improving from all-time record highs, individuals nationwide still believe in the “American dream” of owning a home.
In a recent real estate survey conducted by Yahoo, 74% of 1,500 homeowners and renters interviewed across the country believe homebuying is a good investment despite problems plaguing the housing market such as tumbling home prices, high foreclosures and tight credit for buyers.
While the rise in foreclosed homes has left many Americans waiting years to buy again, 65% of the respondents are open to buying a foreclosed property because it costs less to purchase. However, 42% of buyers feel the risk of too many unknowns to purchase a home during these unstable times in the housing market.
According to the survey, most renters prefer to own a home, but cash is a major barrier to this dream. Out of 60% of renters who would rather own a home, factors that deter these individuals from their American dream include not having enough money for a downpayment (53%), insufficient credit (38%) and the possibility of facing long-term debt (25%).
The survey also found that the majority of Americans (51%) think the government should be doing more to help out homeowners. Coincidentally, 31% reported that the housing market would have an influence during the 2012 presidential election, as Democrats are more receptive than Republicans in terms of assisting homeowners.
Meanwhile, the real estate advisory firm Robert Charles Lesser & Co. found conflicting reports about how individuals feel about the state of the housing market.
In the Washington-based firm's third-quarter survey, which received responses from nearly 2,000 individuals, nearly 80% feel that the market has either unchanged or gotten worse in 2011. However, approximately 40% of respondents said their local economy is better now than a year ago.
Almost all (98%) of the RCLCO survey respondents are fearful of a double-dip recession for the entire country, plus 40% believe this might take place in their regional market.
“Clearly, optimism about the housing market coming out of the end of 2010 and early 2011 has changed somewhat due to a number of reasons,” Hewitt told this publication. “Indecision on Capitol Hill, the debt ceiling and the European sovereign debt crisis have all created uncertainty in the marketplace. These factors will continue to gain strength and momentum in 2011 and it looks like the 'new normal' for the housing market will not occur until 2013.”
According to Hewitt, the “new normal” involves housing prices returning to more stable levels and foreclosures working their way through the system. However, he said that the housing market is not going to revert back to what it looked like in 2006 and 2007 before the current housing crisis began.
“Where we once felt confident predicting accelerating growth in the latter half of 2011 and into 2012 for the real estate markets, this could easily be pushed off by two to three quarters,” RCLCO said in its survey. “Even as the markets continue to recover, as we expect they will, the road to recovery in the real estate industry will be slow and uneven.”
