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Owners Expect the Value of Their Homes to Rise, Poll Finds
As builders across the country work to inform prospective home buyers about why this a good time to buy a home, recent findings from a new nationwide survey commissioned by NAHB confirm that confidence in the outlook for residential real estate remains unshaken by the current slowdown in the marketplace.
Americans remain highly confident about the nation’s housing prospects, with more than four out of five home owners expecting the value of their home to appreciate over the next five years and nearly seven out of 10 calling it their most valuable investment, according to results from the survey of more than 2,000 households, including more than 1,750 registered voters.
“The poll clearly debunks the more sensational media reports speculating on the demise of the housing market,” said NAHB President David Pressly. “It is interesting to note that other polls conducted by major news organizations have come up with similar results, indicating that despite the current housing market downturn, Americans resoundingly believe that buying a home is the best investment they can ever make.”
Conducted by RT Strategies between Oct. 26 and 29, the polling found that 81% of home owners believe that the value of their homes will rise over the next five years. Only 13% felt their home would fall in value, while 4% expected no change and 3% were unsure.
In addition, 69% of the respondents listed their home as their most valuable investment. By contrast, just 11% of those polled cited 401(k) and other retirement accounts as their top investment, a distant second to homes.
Looking ahead, NAHB said the housing market is poised for solid and sustained growth in the future.
“We are in the midst of an inevitable adjustment following the housing boom of 2004-2005 when housing market activity soared to unsustainable levels,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders. “Housing demand should stabilize in short order, and the downward adjustment to housing production should run its course by mid-2007. The market that emerges from this correction will display good balance between supply and demand and move to a healthy and sustainable trend based on solid underlying fundamentals.”
It's a Great Time to Buy
Materials put at the disposal of NAHB members last week, “It’s a Great Time to Buy,” emphasize that home buyers have greater opportunities today than they have had for several years, with prices leveling off, mortgage interest rates remaining near historic lows and a relatively strong economy continuing to create job and income growth.
Potential buyers who sit on the fence in the hopes of “timing the market” and making their purchase at the exact time when the downturn hits bottom could miss out, because the peaks and valleys of the housing cycle are just as difficult to predict with pin-point precision as the stock market, and conditions will vary by location.
Those who purchased homes during the previous housing downturn in the early 1990s came out big winners. The median price of a new home in 1991 was $120,000. In 2005, it was $240,900 — just over double in price.
Resources in the free, members-only buy-now package include:
- Talking points, Q&As and a sample press release
- Sample op-eds, letter to the editor and newspaper columns
- An economic backgrounder
- Print and radio advertisements
- Public relations advice on getting the message out through the media, events and Web sites
- A home builders association guide on how to make the most of the package
- Sample member communications, including a newsletter article and tips for engaging members in the campaign
As part of the effort, additional resources targeted to consumers are available to consumers at www.nahb.org/timetobuy.
For more information, e-mail Niki Clark at NAHB, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8061.
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