{"id":3211,"date":"2025-10-12T13:59:14","date_gmt":"2025-10-12T13:59:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/2025\/10\/12\/survey-1-in-6-aspiring-homeowners-have-given-up-bankrate\/"},"modified":"2025-10-12T13:59:14","modified_gmt":"2025-10-12T13:59:14","slug":"survey-1-in-6-aspiring-homeowners-have-given-up-bankrate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/2025\/10\/12\/survey-1-in-6-aspiring-homeowners-have-given-up-bankrate\/","title":{"rendered":"Survey: 1 in 6 Aspiring Homeowners Have Given Up | Bankrate"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Home prices remain near record highs. Mortgage rates have retreated but remain well above their pandemic lows. Add it up, and homebuyers are feeling discouraged.<\/p>\n

With housing affordability squeezing buyers, one in six (16 percent) of aspiring homebuyers have given up on purchasing a home in the past five years because they could not find anything they liked or could afford, according to a new Bankrate survey. Nearly 3 in 10 (28 percent) aspiring homeowners said the price of a home in their area was the most important issue when deciding whether to purchase a home. That\u2019s in spite of a broad desire for homeownership \u2014 the vast majority of U.S. adults still consider owning a home a linchpin of the American dream, according to Bankrate\u2019s 2025 Home Affordability Survey.<\/p>\n

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U.S. home affordability is at its worst level in decades.<\/q> \u2014 Stephen Kates, Bankrate financial analyst <\/cite> <\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n

\u201cU.S. home affordability is at its worst level in decades,\u201d says Stephen Kates, financial analyst at Bankrate. \u201cThe punishing combination of high home prices, low supply and high mortgage rates has caused one in six home shoppers over the past five years to give up completely.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjamin Clark, broker-owner of Buyer Representation in Salt Lake City, Utah, and president of the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents, agrees. \u201cPrices have gone up significantly since Covid,\u201d he says. \u201cInterest rates have gone up significantly since Covid. And buyers\u2019 incomes have not necessarily gone up.\u201d Still, he says, buyers shouldn\u2019t give up \u2014 new buying opportunities are opening up as the housing market cools nationallly.<\/p>\n

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Mortgage Icon<\/title> <\/svg> <\/p>\n
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Bankrate\u2019s key findings on homeowner sentiment <\/p>\n

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Homebuyers are feeling discouraged. <\/b>Amid affordability challenges \u2014 namely record-high home prices and elevated mortgage rates \u2014 16 percent of people who were looking to buy over the past five years have abandoned their search.<\/p>\n

Younger generations believe they have fewer financial opportunities compared to older generations. <\/b>Gen Z (ages 18-28) leads the way in this feeling, with 54 percent of Americans in this age group saying older generations had it better.<\/p>\n

Many millennial buyers have abandoned their searches. <\/b>Millennials are the most likely to have given up on purchasing a home in the last five years because they couldn\u2019t find anything they liked or could afford at 22 percent, followed by Gen Xers at 17 percent.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

A discouraging market: Hopeful buyers pull the plug on their home search<\/h2>\n

When asked about what the important issues are for determining their interest in buying a home, aspiring homeowners are most likely to point to the cost of homes in the area (28 percent) followed by the amount in their savings (16 percent), job situation (16 percent), an interest in staying in the same area long term (14 percent) and personal relationships (4 percent). Among those who are interested in purchasing a home, the cost of homes in the area is the most important factor across generations, genders and income brackets.<\/p>\n

Among aspiring homeowners, just 7 percent are actively shopping for a home \u2014 searching for-sale homes in their area or attending open houses. Gen Zers are the most likely to be shopping for a home, with 1 in 10 (9 percent) doing so, followed by millennials (ages 29-44) at 7 percent, Gen Xers (ages 45-60) at 7 percent and baby boomers (ages 61-79) at 5 percent.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite the difficulty in finding homes to purchase, nearly half of home shoppers report that prioritizing a home purchase in their local area is the most important factor influencing their decision,\u201d Kates says. \u201cFor buyers who are struggling but remain committed to finding a house, expanding your search is a necessity. The house you can buy might be a little farther, a little older or a little weirder than you initially wanted, but you can make it your own.\u201d<\/p>\n

Buying attitudes by age<\/h2>\n

Across generations of aspiring homeowners, millennials are the most likely to have given up on purchasing a home in the last five years because they couldn\u2019t find anything they liked or could afford at 22 percent, followed by Gen Xers at 17 percent, Gen Zers at 12 percent and baby boomers, also at 12 percent.<\/p>\n

To gauge attitudes about the sharp rise in home prices \u2014 and the decline in affordability \u2014 since 2020, we asked: \u201cCompared to previous generations, how would you best describe the financial opportunities available to people of your generation?\u201d A third of total Americans said they have more opportunities to achieve financial goals than previous generations, 28 percent perceived similar opportunities and 39 percent believed they have fewer opportunities today.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s nuance within those results. Younger generations believe they have fewer opportunities compared to older generations. Gen Z\u00a0leads the way in this feeling, with 54 percent of Americans in this age group saying older generations had it better. Among millennials, 48 percent say they\u2019re at a disadvantage, followed by 38 percent of Gen Xers and just 22 percent of baby boomers.\u201c Younger Americans are feeling this disadvantage at a time when home ownership is increasingly out of reach<\/p>\n

\u201cGen Z and millennials are in their prime home-shopping years but face a high barrier to entry,\u201d Kates says.<\/p>\n

Intriguingly, income only has a minor impact on respondents\u2019 beliefs that they have the same or greater opportunities than prior generations.<\/p>\n

Buying attitudes by education<\/h2>\n

Education levels affect how Americans view homeownership. Among those who never attended college, 13 percent say they have never owned and have no desire to. That falls to just 9 percent of Americans who attended some college, 5 percent of those with four-year degrees and 2 percent of Americans who attended graduate school.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur data shows that education influences homebuying aspirations and views on economic opportunity in surprising ways,\u201d Kates says. \u201cCollege-educated respondents were more likely to aspire to homeownership but also more likely to believe their generation has fewer opportunities than previous ones. Income level alone did not mirror this result, leading us to conclude that higher education raises lifestyle expectations regardless of income or financial outcomes.\u201d<\/p>\n

What you can do on your homebuying journey now<\/h2>\n

While the current housing market is discouraging, there are ways to cope with the challenges that can come with buying a home. Consider these tactics:<\/p>\n