The latest BMO Real Financial Progress Index is predicting this year will not have a Summer of Love when it comes to homebuying.
The new index report polled 2,500 American adults and found only 6% of respondents who are planning a home purchase in the near future will be shopping for property this summer, with 64% stating they will wait for rates to drop before their move forward with their acquisitions.
Even less encouraging: 43% reported they are no longer sure if or when they will buy a home and 56% of millennial and Gen Z respondents felt buying a home is more out of reach for them compared to their parents’ generation. As for the roots of their pessimism, high housing costs (68%) was among the leading sources of financial anxiety, while macro issues such as individual financial situations (82%) and fears of unknown expenses (83%) dominated the doom and gloom.
“Homeownership has traditionally been one of the best ways to secure long-term financial gains, build equity and achieve real financial progress,” said Thomas Parrish, head of U.S. retail lending product management at BMO. “It’s crucial, especially in higher-rate environments, for Americans to talk to a mortgage advisor who can help prepare buyers for the homebuying process, work to determine how much a person can afford and clear up the misconceptions about the many paths to homeownership that exist.”
;
