The poll results beg the question, when is the media going to catch on to the fact that consumer sentiment has changed and that it’s time to drop the negative sentiment that pervades almost every article or story about the real estate market in the country?
Here is the excerpt that appeared at Gallup.com:
Given all the doom and gloom in today’s housing market, it may seem surprising that 53% of Americans say now is a good time to buy a house. Still, it is hard to argue with the idea that it is now a “buyer’s market” in most of the nation’s residential real estate markets for consumers who can get the financing they need to close a deal–although this is way down from the housing boom days of 2003 and 2005, when 81% and 71% of Americans, respectively, thought it was a good time to buy. So on an overall basis, most Americans still back a home purchase, but on a relative basis, they do not think it is as good a bet as it was three to five years ago.
While there are essentially no differences in how consumers view the opportunity to buy a house by region, there are differences by income. Only 34% of those making less than $30,000 a year see this as a good time to buy a house, compared with 56% of those making $30,000 but less than $75,000, and 69% of those making $75,000 or more. In part, this may be because lower-income households that once had access to housing financing using subprime loans are finding home loans harder to get.
