Homebuyer remorse is on the rise, according to the latest ValueInsured [1] Modern Homebuyer Survey. In a market driven by low inventory and heavy competition that has steadily escalated home prices for a few years now, buyers are increasingly regretting how much they've paid for their new homes.
“Home payments in some areas are swallowing up 45 percent of local median income,” ValueInsured wrote. In these areas, “expectation of buyer’s remorse is high.”
According to the findings, two-thirds of homebuyers and almost 70 percent of homeowners expect to have buyer's remorse within a year. A quarter of those said they expect to have the same level of remorse reported by buyers just prior to the crash in 2008.
The second finding, at first glance, might seem counter-intuitive, given that these are homeowners who presumably would place a higher value on homeownership, ValueInsured wrote. “However, when layering this finding and other homeowner insights from the survey onto our current housing market, it makes sense.”
Between 55 and 60 percent of buyers and owners said people who buy in their neighborhood now are overpaying; even more said that if they were to buy a home now, they would be buying high.
Homeowners in California and Texas–“two of the most overheated housing states”–are the most pessimistic about the sustainability of home prices, according to ValueInsured. Eighty percent of owners in these two states (vs. 71 percent nationally) believe a housing correction will happen within two years.
“In Texas, 44 percent of all existing homeowners believe a housing correction is already underway in their area,” ValueInsured said. This, the report stated, “reaffirms the astute sensibility of homeowners who seem to have foreshadowed the latest Case-Shiller Home Price Index report released this week showing Dallas-area home prices growing at the slowest pace in five years.”
Among potential buyers, the sentiment is only slightly less pessimistic. Sixty-five percent of buyers said a housing correction will happen within the next two years. (71 percent homeowners vs. 65 percent non-homeowners).
Learn more about how home prices are affecting the market:
Are Home Prices Decelerating? [2]