According to a recent study from Genworth International Mortgage Trends Report, Americans are much more optimistic about home buying prospects than residents of other countries. Nearly two-thirds of Americans say now is a good time to buy a home.
Recorded among the obstacles for survey participants to purchasing a home are the economic outlook, concerns about affordability, and worries about future unemployment. Still, these economic concerns have not translated into inordinate mortgage stress among American home buyers.
According to the survey, 87% of Americans who were first home buyers in the past year expected to easily meet their mortgage repayment obligations, which is a slight improvement over the 85% who comfortably met their mortgage payments in the 12 months prior to the survey period.
Due to issues with affordability (i.e. high home prices, higher costs of living, or concern of rising interest rates) the average age of first-time home buyers has gone up in all countries except India over the past forty years. The average age at which an individual in the U.S. was able to purchase a first home rose from 27.3 in the 1970s to 31.6 in the 2000s.
“The U.S. is the most optimistic among all the markets surveyed about buying a home,” said Kevin Schneider, Genworth U.S. Mortgage Insurance president. “Nearly two-thirds of Americans surveyed believe now is a good time to buy a home … We hope that federal and state lawmakers recognize this pent-up demand and enact policies that foster prudent home ownership.”
