A majority of Americans now believe that buying a home is a better option than renting or moving in with family, signaling a shift in consumer sentiment despite ongoing affordability challenges, according to Bank of America‘s latest Homebuyer Insights Report.
The survey included with the report, conducted in partnership with Bank of America Institute and released on Tuesday, found that 53% of respondents favor buying a home over renting or living with family, marking the first time since 2023 that a majority has expressed that view.
The report also found growing confidence in the value of homeownership. About 90% of respondents said a home is a valuable investment, up from 79% a year earlier, while 94% said homeownership provides stability, compared with 83% in 2025. Additionally, 32% said they are more confident in their ability to purchase a home this year, up from 27% last year.
‘Increasingly optimistic’ consumers
“We are seeing meaningful changes in attitudes toward homeownership,” Matt Vernon, head of consumer lending at Bank of America, said in a statement. “Despite real and persistent challenges in the market, buyers and owners are increasingly optimistic, and many are starting to move forward rather than waiting on the sidelines.”
In an interview with HousingWire, Vernon reiterated that the market has reached a point where consumers are accepting current rates as the “new normal.”
“The duration of the interest rate environment that we’re in today is now becoming a new normal, so versus the shock of movement from post-pandemic to the levels [near] 7%, now we’re consistently in this area, so this is a new normal from a market perspective,” Vernon said.
“I think that is causing that clear inflection point in sentiment, where most Americans — or more Americans now — are thinking of homeownership as the preferred long-term choice.”
Affordability remains the biggest hurdle for prospective buyers. The survey found that 58% cited high home prices as a barrier to homeownership, up from 46% in 2025, while 47% pointed to elevated mortgage rates, compared with 40% a year ago.
Even so, more consumers appear willing to enter the market. Seventy-one percent of prospective buyers said they are waiting for home prices and interest rates to decline before purchasing, down from 75% in 2025. The shift was most pronounced among younger buyers, with the share falling to 68% among Gen Z respondents (down from 74% a year earlier) and to 70% among millennials (down from 77%)
Among current homeowners, 52% said they expect to purchase another home, either as a primary residence or an additional property. And more homeowners are accelerating their plans, with 22% expecting to buy within the next year, up from 15% in 2025.
Lock-in effect easing?
The survey suggests that the”lock-in effect” created by low-rate mortgages may be easing. More prospective buyers said they would be willing to move and accept a higher mortgage rate if it meant purchasing a home in a more affordable area, securing their dream home or moving to a better location.
“Clearly, affordability is still the constraint in the market, but we’re also seeing homeowners make trade-offs to challenge that issue, whether that’s looking at managing costs, smaller living places, fewer amenities or looking at markets that may be cheaper than they initially were looking into,” Vernon said.
Technology is also playing a larger role in the homebuying process, with 20% of prospective buyers and homeowners reporting that they used artificial intelligence tools or chatbots during the past year to research housing-related topics. Usage was higher among younger consumers, reaching 32% among Gen Z respondents and 28% among millennials.
Among those who used AI, the most common applications included affordability, mortgage payment and closing cost estimates, learning about the homebuying process, and researching neighborhoods, market trends and property values.
Despite growing interest in AI, consumers still prefer human guidance for major decisions. Respondents said they would rather rely on professionals for tasks such as touring homes and obtaining legal or contractual advice.
Gen Z ‘social pressures’
The survey also highlighted the challenges facing younger buyers. Nearly one-third of Gen Z respondents said they are considering purchasing a home with friends or family members, while 28% reported taking on additional jobs to improve affordability. Another 31% said they plan to use homebuyer assistance programs to help fund a purchase.
Vernon said that while Gen Zers have an advantage of being digitally savvy, they are facing “social pressures” to buy a home.
“Those newer, social media native younger generations are seeing their friends, they are seeing their neighbors, they are seeing folks that they connect with either achieve the dream of homeownership or talk about aspiring to get there, and they’re feeling a general pressure if they are in the same age — and, ultimately, situation in life ‚ where their friends, their neighbors, etc., are buying and they are not,” he said.
The findings are based on an online survey conducted by Sparks Research between April 13 and May 10, 2026. The survey included 2,000 adults, evenly split between homeowners and renters, who either currently own a home, previously owned one or plan to become homeowners in the future.
English (US) · 