--- title: 2 in 3 Americans Planning to Buy a Home Are Waiting Until Mortgage Rates Drop description: Nearly two-thirds of Americans planning to buy a home have decided to postpone their search until mortgage rates come down. authors: - name: Leslie Cook role: Editor, Real Estate url: https://money.com/author/leslie-cook/ bio: Leslie Cook is Money’s lead real estate editor covering trends in the housing market, mortgage rates and real estate. She also writes about home renovation trends and tips. education: Bryn Mawr College, BA History certifications: Certified Personal Finance Counselor at_money_since: 2019 articles: 798 covers: - Mortgages - Banking - Credit - Economy and Politics - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Loans - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Taxes social: - https://twitter.com/LeslieLCook - https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslie-cook-9829b9198/ editors: - name: Julia Glum role: Managing Editor url: https://money.com/author/julia-glum/ bio: Julia Glum joined Money in 2018 and specializes in covering financial trends that affect everyday Americans' wallets. She also writes Dollar Scholar, a weekly newsletter that teaches young adults how to navigate the messy world of money. education: University of Florida at_money_since: 2018 articles: 453 covers: - Mortgages - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - Newsweek - International Business Times - CBS News - Good Morning America - WUSA9 - Pix 11 - The New York Times - Mashable - The Washington Post - CNBC - Politico social: - https://x.com/superjulia - https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-glum published: '2023-06-07T13:12:11.000Z' modified: '2024-02-18T13:11:06.000Z' section: Mortgages tags: - News word_count: 569 canonical: https://money.com/homebuyers-wait-mortgage-rates-drop/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We may earn a fee if you click on the links below. Compensation does not determine ranking. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![For Sale sign with illustrated spiderwebs on top](https://img.money.com/2023/06/News-Homebuyers-Waiting-Mortgage-Rate-Drop.jpg?crop=0px%2C51px%2C2880px%2C1620px&quality=85) High [mortgage rates](https://money.com/current-mortgage-rates/) are wreaking havoc on a lot of people's homebuying hopes this year. Nearly two-thirds of Americans planning to buy a home have decided to postpone their search until mortgage rates come down from their current elevated levels, according to the most recent [BMO Real Financial Progress Index](https://newsroom.bmo.com/2023-06-05-BMO-Real-Financial-Progress-Index-Nearly-Two-Thirds-of-Americans-are-Waiting-on-Mortgage-Rates-to-Drop-Before-Buying-a-Home) (a forward-looking indicator of consumer sentiment regarding personal finance). While potential homebuyers in today’s [market](https://money.com/buyers-sellers-housing-market-pessimism/) are very rate-sensitive regarding a home purchase, they're also considering other factors. The survey shows that 65% of respondents are delaying their homebuying plans because of overall economic uncertainty. While most Americans are merely putting their homebuying plans on hold, others are rethinking homeownership entirely. Forty-three percent of survey respondents say they’re no longer sure when, or even if, they will buy a home. - Only 6% of respondents plan on buying a house this summer, with 4% saying they’ll buy in the fall. - Thirty-two percent say they will wait until 2024 or later to enter the market — depending on when [mortgage rates go down](https://money.com/mortgage-rates-forecast-drop-2023/). - More than half of millennials and Gen Zers feel stressed about buying a home, believing homeownership is more out of reach for them compared to previous generations. - Housing costs are the most significant source of financial anxiety for 68% of the survey respondents. Home affordability may be high on Americans’ minds, but it isn’t the only concern. The economy is causing significant anxiety, as well, with 83% of respondents saying unknown expenses are their largest source of financial anxiety. ## High mortgage rates stretch homebuyer affordability The start of 2023 seemed encouraging for millions of Americans thinking of buying a house. [Freddie Mac’s average mortgage rate](https://money.com/current-mortgage-rates/) dropped as low as 6.09% during the first week of February. Well-qualified buyers could find mortgage rates below 5%: a level not seen since early 2022. But since then, rates have been steadily climbing once again. Current mortgage rates are now at 6.79% due in part to fears over a debt ceiling default (although that pressure eased when Congress struck a [deal](https://money.com/debt-ceiling-deal-affect-your-money/) over the weekend), inflation still running hot, and the lingering possibility of a recession. When it comes time to run the numbers, the full impact of higher rates can be sobering for many potential buyers. For example, a borrower who qualifies for a $400,000 mortgage at 6.09% has a $2,421 monthly payment. At 6.79%, the payment increases to $2,605. That’s an increase of $184 per month — or $2,200 per year in housing costs. ## Bottom line It’s a [rough housing market](https://money.com/buyers-sellers-housing-market-pessimism/), as the BMO survey shows. But despite the challenges, there are still plenty of buyers and sellers out there — and there’s some good news on the horizon. With more buyers pulling back from the market, home prices have been falling in cities nationwide. Nationally, median [home prices are down by $18,000](https://money.com/cities-home-prices-lower-pandemic-boomtowns/) compared to last year, with some cities seeing prices as much as $80,000 lower year-over-year. Some of the most significant [price declines](https://money.com/cities-where-home-sale-prices-declining/) are happening in pandemic boomtowns, where prices are more than 10% lower. With more sellers willing to [negotiate concessions](https://money.com/home-sale-concessions-buyers-market/) and mortgage lenders offering rate buydowns, closing cost credits and [negotiable lending fees](https://money.com/negotiate-homebuying-fees/), there are still buying opportunities for those willing to tough it out. [The Best Mortgage Lenders of 2023](https://money.com/best-mortgage-lenders/) [10 Cities Where Housing Costs Are Cooling Off Fast](https://money.com/cities-housing-market-costs-cooling/) [Here Are the Top 20 Emerging Housing Markets for Spring 2023](https://money.com/top-emerging-housing-markets-spring-2023/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/homebuyers-wait-mortgage-rates-drop/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Mortgages", "item": "https://money.com/mortgages/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Mortgage Rates", "item": "https://money.com/mortgage-rates/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "2 in 3 Americans Planning to Buy a Home Are Waiting Until Mortgage Rates Drop" } ] }, { "@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/homebuyers-wait-mortgage-rates-drop/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/homebuyers-wait-mortgage-rates-drop/", "name": "2 in 3 Americans Planning to Buy a Home Are Waiting Until Mortgage Rates Drop", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2023-06-07T13:12:11.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/homebuyers-wait-mortgage-rates-drop/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/homebuyers-wait-mortgage-rates-drop/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-02-18T13:11:06.000Z" }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "2 in 3 Americans Planning to Buy a Home Are Waiting Until Mortgage Rates Drop", "articleSection": "Mortgages", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2023/06/News-Homebuyers-Waiting-Mortgage-Rate-Drop.jpg?crop=0px%2C51px%2C2880px%2C1620px&quality=85", "width": 1012, "height": 569, "caption": "News-Homebuyers-Waiting-Mortgage-Rate-Drop" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Leslie Cook", "url": "https://money.com/author/leslie-cook/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/leslie-cook/#author", "description": "Leslie Cook is Money’s lead real estate editor covering trends in the housing market, mortgage rates and real estate. 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