NEW YORK — Just one in 20 Americans say they plan to buy a home within the next year, and they’re most likely to be 34 years old or younger and living in the South or West, according to a survey released Wednesday.
Roughly a quarter of potential buyers said the No. 1 reason they would buy now is that prices appear to have bottomed out. Other findings:
• Respondents favored policies that kept interest rates low and helped troubled homeowners avoid foreclosure over those that helped first-time buyers.
• 48 percent didn’t think the government was doing enough to stabilize the housing market.
• 45 percent worry that they or someone they know will face foreclosure.
The telephone poll was conducted in October by market research firm GfK. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
The Associated Press
