--- title: Why a Record Share of Americans Think It’s a Bad Time to Buy a House description: Is now a good time to buy a house? In a new Gallup poll, a record low share of people say yes — due to high mortgage rates and home prices. authors: - name: Sarah Hansen role: Senior Writer url: https://money.com/author/sarah-hansen/ bio: Sarah Hansen is a senior writer at Money covering all things personal finance. Previously, she covered economic policy and capital markets on the breaking news desk at Forbes. education: Northwestern University, New York University at_money_since: 2021 articles: 347 covers: - Housing - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes social: - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-m-hansen/ former_staff: true editors: - name: Brad Tuttle role: Senior Editor url: https://money.com/author/brad-tuttle/ bio: Brad Tuttle is a former senior editor at Money with over 10 years’ experience covering a vast number of personal finance topics, including careers, cars, travel, budgeting, investing, insurance, credit cards, consumer psychology, real estate, banking, and shopping and deals. education: Columbia University School of Journalism, MS at_money_since: 2014 articles: 366 covers: - Housing - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology social: - https://twitter.com/bradrtuttle - https://linkedin.com/in/brad-tuttle-834b225 former_staff: true published: '2023-05-16T18:01:33.000Z' modified: '2023-05-16T18:01:33.000Z' section: Housing tags: - News word_count: 345 canonical: https://money.com/good-or-bad-time-to-buy-house/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Couple inspects a house with a realtor agent](https://img.money.com/2023/05/News-record-low-people-think-good-time-buy-house.jpg?crop=0px%2C172px%2C2880px%2C1620px&quality=85) Americans are feeling increasingly gloomy about the [housing market](https://money.com/buyers-sellers-housing-market-pessimism/). In a new [Gallup survey](https://news.gallup.com/poll/505901/views-housing-market-reach-new-depths.aspx), 78% of Americans said they believed it was a bad time to [buy a house](https://money.com/how-to-buy-a-house/) — that’s the highest share since Gallup began tracking this question in 1978. This time last year, 69% of people said the same. Just 46% of people said it was a bad time to buy in 2019, before the pandemic. Just 21% of people in the survey, which was conducted last month, said it was a good time to buy, compared to 30% last year and 61% in 2019. ## If you're staying put in your current home, consider refinancing your mortgage ### Refinancing with Rocket Mortgage (NMLS #3030) could save you money by helping you secure a competitive interest rate. Click on your state to view today's rates. [View Options](https://money.com/pr/ffcd835306d1?ap_referrer=%2Fgood-or-bad-time-to-buy-house%2F) ## Making sense of a tough housing market It’s no wonder so many people feel pessimistic about the market. Home prices skyrocketed during the pandemic and have continued to climb. Over the past year, [mortgage rates](https://money.com/current-mortgage-rates/) have soared as the [Federal Reserve continues](https://money.com/fed-raises-rates-last-time/) its battle with stubborn inflation. Those rising rates have created a tricky situation: Many potential sellers are reluctant to enter the market because they’d be forced to give up their current low mortgage rate when they buy their new home, resulting in a serious [dearth of inventory](https://money.com/why-are-there-no-houses-for-sale/). “This spring’s housing market is hot but cold, with scant listings making it less active than usual but fast and competitive at the same time. The good news is that buyers are out there, trying to find a seat in a game of musical chairs. The bad news is there aren’t enough chairs,” Redfin deputy chief economist Taylor Marr said in a recent [blog post](https://www.redfin.com/news/housing-market-update-limited-listings-few-fast-home-sales/). ## Where are home prices headed? Gallup’s data suggests that a growing share of Americans believe the market is likely to cool. Just 56% of respondents said they believe home prices will rise in their area, while 25% believe prices will stay the same and 19% believe prices will fall. Last year at this time, 70% of people expected home prices to rise. ## A lower rate could translate to lower payments, which means you’ll pay less for your home overall ### Locking in a lower interest rate means lower payments and more savings. Sound good? Get a free quote from Rocket Mortgage (NMLS #3030) by clicking below. [View Rates](https://money.com/pr/daf350d7fb39?ap_referrer=%2Fgood-or-bad-time-to-buy-house%2F) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/good-or-bad-time-to-buy-house/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Housing", "item": "https://money.com/housing/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Housing Market", "item": "https://money.com/housing-market/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Why a Record Share of Americans Think It’s a Bad Time to Buy a House" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/good-or-bad-time-to-buy-house/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/good-or-bad-time-to-buy-house/", "name": "Why a Record Share of Americans Think It’s a Bad Time to Buy a House", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2023-05-16T18:01:33.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/good-or-bad-time-to-buy-house/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/good-or-bad-time-to-buy-house/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2023-05-16T18:01:33.000Z" }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "Why a Record Share of Americans Think It’s a Bad Time to Buy a House", "articleSection": "Housing", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2023/05/News-record-low-people-think-good-time-buy-house.jpg?crop=0px%2C172px%2C2880px%2C1620px&quality=85", "width": 1012, "height": 569, "caption": "News-record-low-people-think-good-time-buy-house" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sarah Hansen", "url": "https://money.com/author/sarah-hansen/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/sarah-hansen/#author", "description": "Sarah Hansen is a senior writer at Money covering all things personal finance. Previously, she covered economic policy and capital markets on the breaking news desk at Forbes.", "image": "https://img.money.com/2021/10/a_sarah-hansen.jpg?quality=85&w=400&h=440&crop=1", "email": "sarah.hansen@money.com", "alumniOf": "Northwestern University, New York University", "sameAs": [ "https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-m-hansen/" ] } ], "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization", "datePublished": "2023-05-16T18:01:33.000Z", "description": "Is now a good time to buy a house? In a new Gallup poll, a record low share of people say yes — due to high mortgage rates and home prices.", "abstract": "Is now a good time to buy a house? In a new Gallup poll, a record low share of people say yes — due to high mortgage rates and home prices.", "@id": "https://money.com/good-or-bad-time-to-buy-house/", "inLanguage": "en-US", "dateModified": "2023-05-16T18:01:33.000Z", "editor": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Brad Tuttle", "url": "https://money.com/author/brad-tuttle/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/brad-tuttle/#author", "description": "Brad Tuttle is a former senior editor at Money with over 10 years’ experience covering a vast number of personal finance topics, including careers, cars, travel, budgeting, investing, insurance, credit cards, consumer psychology, real estate, banking, and shopping and deals.\r\n\r\n", "image": "https://img.money.com/2014/01/Brad-Tuttle.png?w=226&h=247&crop=1", "alumniOf": "Columbia University School of Journalism, MS", "sameAs": [ "https://twitter.com/bradrtuttle", "https://linkedin.com/in/brad-tuttle-834b225" ] } ], "wordCount": 345, "keywords": [ "News" ], "about": [ { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Housing in the United States", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Housing_in_the_United_States" ] }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Housing market", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Housing_market" ] }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Real estate", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_estate" ] } ] } ] } ```