More than half of Americans said homeownership will likely remain unattainable even if the Federal Reserve makes the anticipated cuts to benchmark rates, which could bring mortgage rates down.
The findings of a Bloomberg Markets Live Pulse survey showed that more than three-quarters of Americans believe homeownership will only likely be attainable in 2026 or later despite rate cuts from the Fed soon. This is compared to 24% who said they see mortgage rates falling low enough to make homes more affordable in 2025.
The survey, which closed before the release of Friday's jobs report, surveyed 489 participants.
Bloomberg's findings echo those in a recently published analysis by Moody's Analytics, which found that the Fed's September rate cut would unlikely restore the US housing market and relieve the ongoing affordability crisis.
"Even with the first potential rate cut of this hiking cycle likely to occur in September, the federal funds rate would still be in restrictive territory with additional cuts needed to help restore the housing market to a more balanced equilibrium," Moody's economist Nick Villa wrote.
The US Housing Market
Housing affordability has gradually worsened over the past months. As of June, the median existing home sale price is $426,900--the highest on record since at least 1999, per data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The median sales price for new homes also increased in June to $417,300 from the previous month's $407,100, according to the US Census Bureau.
In the week ending Aug. 1, mortgage rates in the US declined to their lowest level since early February but remain elevated. The contract rate for the 30-year mortgage loan was 6.73% while the rate for the 15-year loan was 5.99%, Freddie Mac reported.
To comfortably afford a home, a buyer would need an income of $104,399 to be able to cover the mortgage principal, interest, property taxes, and homeowners insurance payments after putting a 20% down payment, as calculated by HSH. That is well above the national household median income of $74,580.
