Consumers are increasingly tuning in to the topic of
rising home prices in their communities.
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) said prospective home
buyers are particularly aware of the availability of affordable homes that are
for sale in their local markets and perceiving it as a serious issue.
NAHB conducted a nationwide survey of 11,674 adults in
the first quarter regarding their perceptions about the availability and
affordability of housing in their markets. Of those 2,000 or 17 percent
reported they plan to purchase a home within a year.
Those prospective homeowners were asked to estimate the share of for-sale
homes in their markets that they could afford to purchase. Eighty-three percent
said they could afford fewer than half of the available homes. In the previous survey, conducted in the fourth
quarter of 2017, 79 percent expressed that opinion. This means that only a
small minority of potential buyers think they can afford the majority of homes
available on the market: 17% in the first quarter of 2018 and 21% in the last
quarter of 2017.
Millennials were the most likely to view most homes as out of reach; 86 percent
said they could afford fewer than half of currently listings, but large numbers
in older age cohorts expressed that perception as well.

The results of what NAHB says will be an ongoing
series of surveys are published as part of a new research product called the
Housing Trends Report (HTR). This is the
third report based on the first quarter 2018 survey.