Looming interest rate cuts aren’t going to make it easier for Americans to buy a new house anytime soon, according to a majority of the respondents in the latest Bloomberg Markets Live Pulse survey.
Even with Wall Street expecting a Federal Reserve easing cycle, just 24% of 489 poll participants see mortgage rates falling low enough to make homeownership more widely affordable in 2025. More than three-quarters said it will take until 2026 or later for dreams of buying a house to be within reach for many people in the US. The poll closed prior to Friday’s US employment data, which spurred traders to aggressively increase their bets on Fed rate cuts.
Homebuyers Face Longer Wait for Affordability
We asked: When will mortgage rates get low enough in the US to make homeownership more widely affordable?
Source: Bloomberg MLIV Pulse survey July 29- Aug. 2 with 489 responses.
Even those who can afford to buy today might delay, said Redfin Corp. chief economist Daryl Fairweather.
“The narrative has shifted in the last month to the Fed not cutting fast enough, and there might be some people thinking they’ll wait until fall, winter or next year to buy because rates will be lower,” she said.
