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Americans Gaining Confidence They Can Buy a Home

by Realty Times Staff

A new study by Fannie Mae suggests all arrows are pointing toward a strong housing future, with Americans confident in their jobs, confident they can afford a home, confident they find one they like and confident, even, that they know enough about the mortgage process to negotiate its complexities.

The only lingering negative is the feeling that African Americans and Hispanics continue to be discriminated against in the mortgage market.

The GSE began taking the surveys in 1992 and the general results have never been so positive, said CEO Franklin Raines.

"The survey reveals a strong mortgage marketplace. Barriers to homeownership continue to crumble since our first survey in 1992 with more Americans considering themselves potential home buyers and fewer feeling threatened by the mortgage origination process," he said.

According to the survey:

About 50 percent of all Americans say down payment and closing costs are not major obstacles to homeownership, up from 48 percent in 1999 and 27 percent in 1992.

About 66 percent said having a good credit rating to get a mortgage is not an obstacle for them, up from 63 percent in 1999 and 51 percent in 1992.

Just 25 percent of all adults cited "being able to find a home you like and can afford" as a major obstacle to homeownership, up slightly from 23 percent in 1999, but down substantially from 43 percent in the mid-'90s.

Just 13 percent named job security as a factor keeping them from buying homes, compared to 48 percent in 1996.

Some 54 percent of adults said they are either "very" or "fairly" comfortable they have the knowledge needed to buy a home, up from 53 percent in 1999 and 46 percent in 1992.

About 66 percent said "not knowing how to get started" in the home buying process is not a major concern.

In terms of housing discrimination, however, 39 percent of African Americans say they still feel race discrimination is a block to buying a home. More generally, 21 percent of all Americans feel African Americans are discriminated against and 18 percent of all Americans believe Hispanics are discriminated against "all or most of the time."

The Fannie Mae survey also focused on the willingness of Americans to use the Internet to get a mortgage.

The survey reports that about 28 percent said they would definitely or probably use the Internet to apply for a mortgage, up from 20 percent four years ago.

At the same time, the number of Americans who would not try the Internet to apply for a mortgage has fallen from 50 percent to 39 percent.

Younger Americans lead the way in Internet confidence. For 18- to 24-year olds, the willingness to try the Internet to secure a mortgage was 43 percent, and only 6 percent said they definitely would not consider the 'net for a mortgage.

Published: October 9, 2000

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