WHAT THE DATA SAY: Third of Americans worried it’s a bad time to buy a home, despite high desire

By: Ray Day

CONTACT:

Ray Day
ray.day@stagwellglobal.com 

We wanted to share our latest consumer and business insights, based on research from Stagwell. Among the highlights of our weekly consumer sentiment tracking:

IS HOME OWNERSHIP JUST A DREAM?

Financial anxieties and misconceptions make home ownership feel unattainable to Americans, according to our Harris Poll survey with KB Home.

• 83% of Americans believe owning a home is a significant milestone.
• Excitement (47%), pride (43%) and motivation (28%) are the top emotions associated with homebuying.
• However, 89% feel anxious about affordability and the homebuying process (93% for current renters).
• 74% are willing to make lifestyle sacrifices to afford the home they want.
• 54% believe they are in a worse position to buy a home than previous generations.
• 28% are anxious about whether now is a good time to buy.
• Americans’ top financial anxieties are affording a down payment (45%), knowing how much they can afford (43%), making monthly payments (42%) and finding the best mortgage rate (42%).
• 69% falsely believe mortgage rates are at an all-time high.
• Nearly half don’t know key homebuying terms such as APR (44%) and PMI (49%).
• Gen Z (25%) and Millennials (23%) feel anxious about not knowing where to start in the homebuying process.

FREE WIFI, PLEASE

New York City residents rely on tech companies for accessible Wi-Fi according to our HarrisX research with LinkNYC.

• 55% of New York City residents use free public Wi-Fi monthly.
• 30% rely on it weekly.
• 35% don’t have unlimited cellular data plans.
• 51% run out of data at least one month per year.
• 76% approve of New York City’s use of technology to deliver public services.
• 78% say tech companies have positively impacted the city.
• 71% express interest in expanded, city-wide technology and AI programs.

WOMEN WANT DOULAS

Lack of access to doulas is a critical issue in the maternal health care crisis, according to our Harris Poll research.

• 73% of women believe that insurance companies should provide coverage to employ a doula (81% for women aged 18-34).
• 21% of women who have given birth have used a doula, and 90% found it helpful.
• 19% of women who have given birth wanted to employ a doula but couldn’t.
• 23% say a doula would have improved their pregnancy and birth experience.
• 30% felt they did not have control over their labor and delivery.
• Women ages 18-34 are more likely (51%) to engage a doula than older women ages 35+ (15%).
• Reasons for not employing a doula include lack of education and resources (65%) and financial constraints/lack of insurance coverage (35%).

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