{"id":149484,"date":"2025-09-11T17:52:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T17:52:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/149484\/"},"modified":"2025-09-11T17:52:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T17:52:08","slug":"homebuyers-strained-by-costs-confused-about-mortgage-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/149484\/","title":{"rendered":"Homebuyers strained by costs, confused about mortgage market"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nearly one in three respondents said high mortgage rates<\/a> are the nation\u2019s biggest economic problem, and three-quarters said current rates are abnormally high, despite being lower than historic norms.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven with the recent dip in interest rates, the reality for most Americans hasn\u2019t changed \u2014 buying a home still feels daunting,\u201d said Tomo Mortgage CEO Greg Schwartz. \u201cOne in three buyers now see high mortgage rates<\/a> as the country\u2019s biggest economic problem, and 75% believe today\u2019s rates are unusually high \u2014 even though they\u2019re below the 50-year average.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat disconnect between perception and reality is driving real stress in the market, and until confidence returns, demand will remain fragile.\u201d<\/p>\n

Delayed decisions<\/p>\n

Mortgage rates<\/a> play a central role in buyer hesitation.<\/p>\n

About 85% said they had postponed<\/a> their search at some point while waiting for lower rates. One-quarter reported delaying for more than a year.<\/p>\n

Pessimism is high, with 82% believing rates will stay the same or rise in the next six months \u2014 in contrast with forecasts from major institutions predicting modest declines.<\/p>\n

This standstill has left many buyers in limbo, saying they are both \u201cactively searching\u201d and waiting for rates to drop before committing.<\/p>\n

Financial pressure, sacrifice<\/p>\n

The rising cost of homeownership<\/a> has reshaped how Americans plan their lives. <\/p>\n

In 2000, a typical homebuyer spent about 20% of income on a mortgage \u2014 but today, that figure has climbed to 38%, the report said. <\/p>\n

Survey<\/a> results show that 59% of buyers delayed or abandoned major milestones such as marriage, children, education or career changes because of housing expenses. <\/p>\n

More than one-third said the market made them \u201crethink their entire life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sacrifice is widespread. Nearly half of buyers said they would skip vacations, while others reported cutting into retirement or emergency savings. <\/p>\n

About one in three said they had given up on a dream job or career change to afford a home<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Financial anxiety is pervasive \u2014 with 60% expecting to feel \u201chouse poor\u201d once they close, and 42% said buying a home today feels \u201cincredibly risky.\u201d<\/p>\n

Historic context<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s rates are roughly one percentage point below the 50-year average of 7.7%, according to Freddie Mac<\/a>. <\/p>\n

But the pandemic\u2019s record-low rates have created a \u201crecency bias\u201d that leaves many buyers feeling current levels are abnormally high, the survey added. <\/p>\n

Fifty-five percent of respondents believed rates are higher now than in the 1980s \u2014 when they were nearly three times today\u2019s levels. <\/p>\n

Seventy percent thought rates had increased compared with last year, though in reality they were flat or slightly lower.<\/p>\n

Misunderstandings and confusion<\/p>\n

The survey also uncovered widespread misunderstanding of how mortgages work, contributing to unnecessary costs.<\/p>\n

Two-thirds of buyers said they did not understand \u201cpoints,\u201d often mistaking them for required fees.<\/p>\n

More than half assumed advertised rates on lender websites reflected what typical buyers would receive, though those rates usually apply only to borrowers with excellent credit and large down payments.<\/p>\n

Sixty percent did not know they could negotiate rates with lenders.<\/p>\n

Despite the financial stakes, most buyers spend little time comparing lenders<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Over half said they devoted less than three hours to the process, and one in five spent less than an hour. Nearly 60% admitted they had spent more time shopping for clothes or hotels than for a mortgage.<\/p>\n

Researchers estimate this confusion will cost Americans $11 billion in 2025.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nearly one in three respondents said high mortgage rates are the nation\u2019s biggest economic problem, and three-quarters said…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":149485,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[12832,28,83935,16752,9007,112,5412],"class_list":{"0":"post-149484","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-markets","8":"tag-affordability","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-homebuyers","11":"tag-hwmember","12":"tag-interest-rates","13":"tag-markets","14":"tag-mortgage-rates"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=149484"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149484\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/149485"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=149484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=149484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=149484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}