According to a new survey from Clever Real Estate, the St. Louis-based real estate firm, 2 out of 3 recent US homebuyers are having trouble paying their mortgage and nearly all who bought in 2023 (93%) regret their home buying experience, up from 72% in 2022.
“Homebuyers are saying goodbye to bidding wars and fierce competition as the housing market cools off after two volatile years. But for many beleaguered buyers, the market correction has not been the blessing they had hoped for,” says the Clever Real Estate report.
The 2023 real estate market is still a pretty lousy environment for buyers. Competition has subsided, but rising mortgage rates have forced buyers to lower their budgets, making it even more difficult to find affordable housing while prices remain near record highs.
To find out how buyers and sellers navigate this particular market, Clever Real Estate surveyed 1,000 Americans who bought a home in 2022 and 2023.
The survey revealed that half of Americans think it’s a bad time to sell a home (51%) and an even worse time to buy (53%).
About 44% of buyers say buying a home in 2023 is more difficult than expected and 36% are not satisfied with their buying experience.
First-time buyers are more likely to be dissatisfied, and it’s not hard to see why.
In addition to paying higher prices and facing more competition, 51% say they were taken advantage of by their home seller, and 67% say they felt pressured to make an offer.
Other relevant data from the survey:
· Nearly all recent homebuyers (93%) were committed to their priorities, up from 80% in 2022.
· Approximately 93% of home buyers and 95% of home sellers regret it, up from 72% and 90% in 2022, respectively.
The average homebuyer spent 23% more on their home than the national median price of $516,500 and 31% more than the $500,156 they paid in 2022.
· Most recent homeowners (58%) say they overpaid for their home.
· More than half of homebuyers (56%) have felt financially overwhelmed since buying their home, and nearly two-thirds (62%) have struggled to make their mortgage payments on time.
· More than 1 in 4 recent homebuyers say their overall financial situation has deteriorated (27%) and their debt load (29%) has gotten worse since they bought a home.
The percentage of homeowners who said buying a home was more difficult than expected increased from 30% in 2022 to 44% in 2023 due to financial reasons such as exceeding their budget (45%), high interest rates (42%), and expensive housing prices (42%).
· More than half of homebuyers (53%) agreed to loan terms with a higher-than-desired interest rate to secure a mortgage.
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