By coinnews 
00:00 Brad Smith
Housing market uncertainty. It is at a three-year high, according to the Bank of America Home Buyer Inside Report. 60% of home buyers and home owners can’t tell whether now is a good or bad time to buy a new home. For more, I want to bring in Matt Vernon, Bank of America head of consumer lending. Matt, good to have you here with us. Just take us into this survey. It was conducted back in March and April. Do you think that uncertainty remains high?
00:36 Matt Vernon
Hey, I think our respondent and Brad, good to see you. I think our respondents have have told us very clearly that they are a little bit confused right now and uncertain on whether it is a good time to buy with all of the different factors that are occurring from home prices and rates and volatility in the market. That said, 52% of our respondents are actually more optimistic that the housing market is heading in the right direction, up from a year year ago at less than 45%. So the movement is there. And then importantly, 75% of our respondents are absolutely interested in buying a home and they’re ready to act as soon as they see some signs that rates are coming down or prices are coming down. They’re going to jump right in and be very optimistic.
02:03 Brad Smith
And so, do you think this will affect the current home buying season, the sentiment, at least as evidenced through the survey data?
02:16 Matt Vernon
Yeah, I think certainly we’re off to a bit of a slower start. All the data shows that than we’ve traditionally seen in the spring market. That being said, the word opportunistic is probably the word of the day, right? Because folks are waiting for something to incentiv them to get back into the market. So right now, if we were to see rates come down like we’ve seen, and go up by the way, over the last, call it four months, when it comes down, I would expect folks that have prepared for home ownership, have found that property, have worked with a professional to jump back in and capitalize on that opportunity.
03:10 Brad Smith
And so we know that mortgage rates continue to remain lower than one year ago, more inventory for buyers to choose from in the last few years as Freddie Mac’s chief economist also remarked in the recent rates that were released. So, how are you seeing some of the buyer propensity in comparison to years past at this point in the season where we know people are checking their list, they’re getting out there, and they’re trying to figure out what’s going to sit within their price point and whether that be on the existing or the new home side?
03:54 Matt Vernon
Yeah, I think it’s it’s an opportunistic market as I spoke to just a few moments ago. Rates are now in this new normal trading range of call it low sixes to the upper sixes and yet they move in there. So for those prospective home buyers who’ve done their research, that have saved, have prepared their credit, and they’ve found that home, when they see something that is going to again incentivize them to go do it, they’re going to jump on it because if not, there’s someone else more than likely that’s looking at that same property. So having a pre-approval and getting out there with a real estate professional and making that offer when the when the rates are good or the prices come down is going to be incredibly important in this competitive market.
05:05 Brad Smith
What are you seeing in some of the generational differences? Members of Gen Z, even, maybe financing their home purchases.
05:17 Matt Vernon
Yeah, interestingly enough, right? The Gen Z and the millennials still believe that home ownership is an achievement in life and it builds long-term wealth. And ultimately, they’re doing the things that I would say past generations have done to achieve dream that dream of home ownership, whether that’s taking out an extra job to save for a down payment, whether that’s um really considering moving in with siblings. We’ve saw some good data on that or even asking mom and dad for a loan to get into that in addition to some of that 529 work that are previous your previous uh individual was chatting about.
06:17 Brad Smith
A study, we know, by the National Association of Realtors found that the average first-time home buyer was 38 years old last year. Do you think that number could retreat or go down in the near term?
06:38 Matt Vernon
You know, it has certainly been increasing over the last call it five years to the number that you talked about that 38. I would not frankly be surprised if it moves a little bit here in the interim, but then I really do think it’s going to flatten out as this new normal environment kind of takes place and we begin to see inventory come online and the market begins to function a little better than it has here recently and more closely to how it has historically.
07:15 Brad Smith
I told myself I would own a home by age 32 when I was graduating college. Boy, did I have a lot of learning to do. Matt, thanks so much for taking the time.
07:28 Matt Vernon
My pleasure, Brad. Thanks.