Michigan survey: 85% called it a bad time to buy a house
In the October Surveys of Consumers, 85% said it was a bad time to buy a home, and 62% of them blamed high interest rates, the university reported.
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Homebuying conditions “plummeted” in October, with 85% of consumers saying it is a bad time to buy a house, Michigan News reported from the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers. About 62% blamed high interest rates, up from 47% last month, the university’s news office said. Price concerns were mentioned by 42%, down from 47% two months ago.
The figures come from the final October survey, published on Oct. 23. Joanne Hsu, the surveys’ director, said consumers “have already taken note of recent increases in interest rates,” in the Michigan News account.
For cars, the share of consumers who mentioned interest rates as a problem for buying conditions rose from 18% in September to 24% this month, Michigan News said. Hsu said there was little change in how often people mentioned interest rates when talking about their own finances. About 69% expect interest rates to rise in the year ahead, the highest share since April 2023, she said. That is what respondents expect. It is not a forecast from this site.
The share of consumers who brought up high prices as a drag on their personal finances, without being prompted, rose for a fourth straight month to 56%, compared with 45% in January, Michigan News reported. Hsu said the increase shows up across the political spectrum, with the largest proportional rise among Republicans. Consumers with no stock holdings, or with very small ones, also reported more concern over the year, she said. Consumers with the largest stock holdings reported little change in that burden since February, which she tied to financial wealth that can absorb higher costs.
Gasoline prices were mentioned without a prompt by more than 40% of respondents, the university said. On the survey’s own results page, Hsu wrote that buying conditions for durable goods plunged 18% on higher interest rates and affordability worries.
The survey gives each household in the coterminous United States an equal chance of selection, and interviews run through the month on the web, Michigan News said. Nothing here is advice about buying a house, a car, or any other asset.
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