Move, Inc,. which operates realtor.com, released a survey yesterday about Americans’ outlook on the housing market. Here are some highlights. While most of the numbers make sense, I find the first claim highly dubious…roughly one in five adults will buy a home this year? Wouldn’t that be lovely. :
- 18.1 percent of adults plan to buy a home this year in order to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit recently passed by Congress in the administration’s economic stimulus package.
- 21 percent of all homeowners with a mortgage contacted a lender to restructure their loan.
- 23 percent of adults plan to purchase a home in the next five years; 53 percent of those are first time homebuyers.
- 52 percent of all Americans are concerned they or someone they know will face foreclosure in the next six to 12 months
- 72 percent of adults reduced spending in the past year in order to make monthly mortgage or rent payments, mostly by cutting discretionary spending such as vacations, entertainment and eating out (75%), personal items such as clothing, personal care and personal luxuries (72%), and energy costs such as gasoline and utilities (71.6%).