For many Americans, the prospect of becoming homeowners has become so unattainable that some are even hoping for a housing market collapse so they can afford to purchase a home in today’s economy. That’s arguably the most significant—and depressing—finding from a new LendingTree survey of 2,000 Americans about the nationwide housing market.
Not everyone believes that the property market is in danger of collapsing. Many people are actively hoping it will occur. 31% of respondents, including 59% of Gen Zers between the ages of 18 and 29, said as much. An estimated 54% of respondents say they don’t want the market to crash, while 15% are unsure. It’s startling, though, that almost one-third of Americans want for the collapse of the property market.
Americans are largely divided on whether the housing market is in danger of collapsing in the upcoming year, as is the case with almost everything these days. Some 36% of respondents think it is, 33% disagree, and 31% are unsure. The survey showed that respondents are more inclined to think that the market is about to crash if you are younger and your household income is higher.
Will a Market Crash Make Homeownership More Attainable?
Why would homebuyers want the market to crash? The most frequently given answers were:
- They think a crash will lead to greater stability in the future
- They think a crash will lower their property tax payments on their current home
- They think a crash will help them buy a home
- They think a crash will help usher in broader economic reform
Further, some27% of Americans who do not already own a home think that the only way they could afford to do so would be if the property market crashed. 34% of millennials between the ages of 30 and 45, 32% of men, and nearly 4 out of 10 parents of small children (39%), concur.
It should come as no surprise that 45% of Americans are most concerned about the housing market due to high home prices, given how many Americans are hoping for a fall. The impact of the housing market on the economy as a whole (30%), rising property taxes (38%), and high mortgage rates (35%), are other concerns.
Most, but not all, demographics are most concerned about high pricing. Baby boomers aged 62 to 80 (46%), those making $100,000 or more a year (44%), and parents with children aged 18 or older (42%), are most concerned about property taxes. In contrast, the groups most likely to be concerned about high interest rates include six-figure incomes (41%), millennials (42%), and parents of small children (44%).
The current state of the housing market is not the only issue facing Americans. Frequently, they are blatantly negative. For instance, according to 55% of Americans, house prices will increase over the course of the next year. Of that group, two-thirds (66%) think prices will increase by at least 5%, with 19% anticipating a 10% or more increase.
Homebuyer Optimism Varies by Generation
Parents of small children are most likely to believe that prices will increase over the next year (62%). Compared to prior generations, younger Americans are more inclined to believe that (60% of Gen Zers and millennials, compared to 51% of Gen Xers aged 46 to 61 and 47% of boomers).
Note: Generations are defined as the following ages in 2026:
- Baby boomers: 62 to 80
- Generation Z: 18 to 29
- Millennials: 30 to 45
- Generation X: 46 to 61
Americans are not merely pessimistic about the cost of housing. Just 20% think they will ever see mortgage rates as low as they were in 2020–21, while more than half (52%) do not. At the beginning of January 2021, the interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 2.65%. That percentage is 6.01% today.) Additionally, according to 56% of Americans, President Donald Trump will have a negative impact on the home market in 2026. Regarding the president’s impact on the housing market, opinions differ significantly between the sexes: 62% of women believe he won’t be beneficial, while just 50% of men agree.
Survey respondents were asked, “Do you think you’ll ever be able to buy a home again?” and in general, respondents gave more upbeat responses to these questions than to others:
- “Yes” (50%)
- “No, I won’t ever look to buy again” (21%)
- “No, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to buy again” (13%)
- “Unsure” (16%)
It is not absolutely necessary to interpret the 21% statistic as wholly negative. Regardless of the state of the housing market, it may comprise a sizable portion of the population who are in their “forever home” and have no plans to move. In light of this, these figures show that a far higher percentage of homeowners believe they will someday be able to own a home again than those who do not.
However, that does not imply that everything is flawless. Due to the high mortgage rates of today, over one-third (35%) of homeowners say they are hesitant to purchase a home again. You are more inclined to say so if you are younger and earn more money. Additionally, men are far more likely than women to report becoming homeowners (42% of men compared to 27% of women).
Last year, President Trump proposed a 50-year mortgage, which is far longer than the conventional 30-year mortgage that dominates the American housing market, in an effort to tackle housing unaffordability. Our study indicates that the concept has some genuine consumer appeal, despite the fact that many analysts from both parties criticized it for being too costly in the long run and too sluggish to increase equity. We discovered that 46% of Gen Zers and 29% of Americans would at least think about obtaining a 50-year mortgage if it would enable them to purchase a home this year.
Nobody can predict what the housing market will look like in the next year. There is still a great deal of uncertainty in the economy, even though a housing crisis looks quite unlikely, according to some experts.
