National Association of Home Builders Reports Larger Shift in Suburban Home Sale

According to the NAHB, there is a larger shift toward suburban home purchases. According to study, more households intend to buy a home in the next four months.

COVID-19 has influenced the housing preferences of 25% of home buyers, according to a recent study conducted by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

The survey asked about location preferences both before and after COVID-19. The results show that, as a result of the health crisis, a segment of home buyers has shifted their preference to the outlying suburbs.

According to the NAHB, prior to COVID-19, 26 percent of buyers wanted to buy a home in an outlying suburb. However, since the start of the pandemic, that share has risen to 30%.

The share of buyers who would prefer a close-in suburb decreased from 29 percent prior to COVID-19 to 28 percent now; for a rural area, the share decreased from 24 percent to 23 percent; and for a central city’s downtown area, the share decreased from 12 percent to 11 percent.

Before and after COVID-19, the share of buyers looking to buy their next home in the central city outside of downtown remained constant at 9 percent.

More consumers expect to buy a home in the next four months, according to a separate report.

The New York Federal Reserve Bank’s December Household Spending Survey revealed a modest increase in household spending over the previous four months, as well as a surge in the median expectation for year-ahead household spending to the highest level since August 2015.

Only 2.2 percent of households purchased a home or apartment in the last four months, down from 3.8 percent in August.

In contrast, the average percentage of households planning to buy a home in the next four months rose from a series low of 3.3 percent in August to 6.2 percent in December 2020.