Presidential Election Prompts Home Buyers to Wait-and-See

Daily Real Estate News
Tuesday, September 25, 2012

A quarter of Americans say they want to put off purchasing a home until they know who the next president will be, according to a poll conducted on behalf of MortgageMarvel.com of more than 2,500 adults.

“It’s understandable that a considerable number of people say the upcoming election would give them pause for thought,” says Rick Allen, chief operating officer of Mortgage Marvel. “There has been speculation that tax policies could change depending upon who wins. Some have even indicated that the longstanding deduction for mortgage interest could be eliminated. It appears that mortgage interest rates will remain low for the foreseeable future, so there’s no pressure on people to act before rates rise. In such an environment, I can see that cautious people would take a wait-and-see attitude before making a home purchase.”

On a regional basis, people in the South had the highest percentage of those who said they’d delay buying a home because of the uncertainty surrounding the presidential election. Meanwhile, Americans in the West had the largest percentage of people who said the upcoming election has no effect on their home purchase decisions.

Source: “Study Shows 25 Percent of Americans Would Delay Home Purchase Until After Election,” RISMedia (Sept. 24, 2012)