The short answer is – if we had to make a quick educated guess – realtors in Seattle or similarly hot markets, where homes have been known to fly off the listing at above asking price, often before the first open house and without an inspection. One might think the obvious answer should have been sellers, until you remember they need to turn around, land on the other side and buy a home to live in.
All joking and speculations aside, we are curious to find out which segment of consumers believe they most benefit from this current housing market. As we all know, the market is psychological. How consumers feel about the market affects how they ultimately behave in it.
In the latest ValueInsured Modern Homebuyer Survey, Americans were asked how they fare in this current housing market:
Overall, 49% of all Americans believe the current housing market is headed in a direction good for them and people like them. In other words, just over half in our country now believe the housing market – historically the engine behind American household wealth – is not working in their favor.
Among all homeowners, 64% believe the market is headed in a good direction for them. Homeowners in urban areas are most positive, with 72% believing they expect to fare well in this market, while only 55% of all homeowners in rural areas believe the same.
First-time homeowners who wish to upgrade are also among the most optimistic, with 69% believing the market direction is positive for them.
Among all non-homeowners, only one-third (33%) believes the current housing market is headed in a direction good for them. This may not be a surprise, given how challenging the market has been to buyer-hopefuls and renters. It also shows that, with all the talk of cooling prices particularly in overheated markets, majority of non-homeowners still do not feel enough relief.
Among millennial first-time homebuyers who plan to buy a home “in the near future,” 34% believe the market is headed in a good direction for them, while nearly two-thirds do not.
It is worth noting that while many homeowners feel positively about where the market is headed, it is far from unanimous. Over 1 in 3 of all homeowners in America today (36%) do not believe the market is headed in a good direction for them. Some of these homeowners may be faced with low inventory or still higher prices during their quest to upgrade, while others could be concerned about cooling prices, which affect their future purchasing power and their household net worth.
Curiously, in Washington State, only 24% of all non-homeowners who wish to buy a home believe the market is moving in their favor, with 25% of all homeowners believing the same. This suggests while the overheated state has been tough on homebuyers, its rapidly cooling market also presents a headache to existing homeowners. Not exactly a win-win.