New data: Buyers are feeling optimistic about their home search prospects

More buyers feeling hopeful

Americans are getting more optimistic about the housing market. According to a new report, nearly one in five expect the home search to get easier in the coming months. The optimism is particularly obvious among would-be Millennial buyers.

Housing hope

The latest Housing Trends Report from the National Association of Home Builders shows that 22 percent of prospective buyers think the home search will get easier in the months ahead. That’s up from 16 percent at the end of 2018.

Millennials are particularly optimistic about homebuying. More of this cohort expect homebuying to get easier than seniors, Baby Boomers and Generation Xers. People in the Midwest and Northeast regions are also more feeling more hopeful about their homebuying prospects than those in other parts of the country.

Overall, buyers are more optimistic about finding the right type of house, too. Nearly a third said they saw more homes that they both liked and could afford last quarter — up from 26 percent last year.

“Regionally, at least 30 percent of buyers in every region, with the exception of the Northeast, report better housing availability in the first quarter of 2019 than three months earlier,” NAHB reported.

Homebuying plans

The report also shows that Millennials and Gen Xers have big homebuying plans this year. Twenty percent of Millennials plan to buy a house in the next 12 months, while 15 percent of Generation Xers do.

A large chunk of those will be first-time buyers. More than three-quarters of prospective Millennial buyers will be first-timers, and 56 percent of Gen Xers will be.

Most are also planning to buy an existing home. About 41 percent of buyers said they aim to buy an existing property, while just 22 percent say they’re considering new construction.

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