Record low 30 percent say it’s a good time to buy a house: Gallup

Less than a third of Americans believe it is a good time to buy a house as the country grapples with nagging supply chain issues and high inflation, according to a new poll.

A Gallup poll released on Wednesday found that 30 percent of respondents believe it is a good time to buy a house, compared to 69 percent who believe it is a bad time to make that investment — a record low for the poll, which has been conducted since 1978.

Looking at age demographics, both respondents between 18 and 34 years old and those aged between 35 and 54 years old were even less enthusiastic about buying a house. 

Only a quarter of respondents between 18 and 34 years old believed it was a good time to buy a house compared to 42 percent in 2021. While 52 percent of respondents aged 35 to 54 years old thought it was a good time to buy a house in 2021, that percentage slipped to 28 percent in this latest poll.

Gallup found that only 35 percent of older adults felt it was a good time to make that investment, but it is a significant drop from 2021 when 61 percent of respondents answered the same way.

Other demographics that reported the highest drop in sentiment over buying a house included those with an annual income of $100,000 or more (27 percent in 2022 compared to 55 percent in 2021); respondents in the Midwest (29 percent in 2022 compared to 60 percent in 2021); and respondents from the suburbs (27 percent in 2022 compared to 60 percent in 2021).

Seven in 10 respondents also said they believe the average price of houses in their area will increase, down just slightly from 71 percent who answered similarly in 2021. 

The development comes amid a 40-year high in inflation and nagging supply chain issues. In March, consumer prices rose 1.2 percent, in part due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine as sanctions and a reduced global supply of key exports have helped drive prices even higher.

The Gallup poll was conducted between April 1 and April 19 with 1,018 adults surveyed. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 4 percentage points with a 95 percent confidence level.