6 Reasons 93% of Homebuyers Have Regrets About Purchasing a House in 2023
Written by
David Nadelle
Edited by
Cory Dudak
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While Americans are looking forward to the housing market reverting to pre-pandemic conditions in 2023, cooler real estate trends have yet to emerge consistently, which has resulted in many homebuyers overpaying, compromising and feeling pressured to buy.
According to a new study by Clever Real Estate, a whopping 93% of recent homebuyers and 95% of home sellers have regrets — up from 72% and 90% in 2022, respectively. A majority of Americans think it’s a bad time to sell a home (51%) and an even worse time to buy (53%).
The survey, conducted April 12-13, 2023, polled 1,000 Americans who purchased or sold a home in 2022 and 2023 on their experience, previous homes sales and general views on buying and selling homes.
More than half of homebuyers (56%) have felt in over their heads financially since purchasing their home, and almost two-thirds (62%) have struggled to make mortgage payments on time. Additionally, More than one in four recent homebuyers claim their overall financial situation (27%) and their debt burden (29%) have gotten worse since purchasing a home. More than half of homebuyers (56%) have taken on additional debt to maintain their lifestyle.
Nearly all recent buyers (93%) say the real estate market impacted their home-buying experience, compared to 88% in 2022. When asked about their homebuying regrets, respondents gave a host of reasons. The top six are listed below:
1. “My home requires too much maintenance” (33%)
According to the survey, a third of recent homebuyers (33%) feel remorse about the upkeep their home needs, compared to 25% in 2022. Homeownership is typically way more expensive than people anticipate; there’s too much maintenance and buyers often have to compromise too much for their home, having little money left to do any repairs.
2. “I bought too quickly” (30%)
Clever found that 28% of buyers are waiting to enter the current challenging real estate market until rates and prices drop, but many waiting for market dynamics to change are getting impatient. Burdened by years of underbuilding, inventory has been stuck at record low levels, which has increased competition and prices while compelling homebuyers to close the deal too early.
3. “I spent too much” (28%)
According to Statista, the average sales price of a new home in 202 was $391,900. In 2022, it reached $540,000. While the average house price has dropped in 2023 — to $716,083 as of April — buying a home can seem like an impossible task. Roughly 38% of homebuyers said they paid over the asking price in 2023, including 42% of first-time buyers, according to the Clever survey.
4. “My interest rate was too high” (28%)
A series of interest rate hikes initiated by the Federal Reserve has led to higher housing prices. The bank’s interest rate affects the cost of borrowing for many loans, including mortgages, and mortgage rates aren’t dropping. As Forbes noted, rates rose 6.96% by mid-July and many experts predict they’ll remain above 6% for the rest of the year.
5. “I bought a fixer-upper” (26%)
Twenty-six percent of respondents said buying a fixer-upper was their biggest regret. Properties that need repairs appeal to first-time buyers because they usually come at a lower purchase price, but the time and money needed to make the repairs aren’t always easy to estimate accurately.
6. “I was pressured to make an offer” (23%)
With prospective homeowners being priced out of the market like never before, dealing with increased house prices and mortgage rates (plus a volatile market) has forced many to jump before they’re ready. As CNN claimed last year, “Buyers typically purchased their homes for 100% of the asking price, with 28% paying more than the asking price,” according to a National Realtors Association report.
Rounding out the regrets buyers had about their homebuying experience had more to do with preferences and pressure to buy than prices and rates and the market: “I don’t like my home’s location” (22%), “I don’t like my neighbors” (21%), “I bought sight unseen” (18%) and “I don’t like my home” (15%).
With many housing market factors still less-than-ideal, it still might not be the perfect time to buy a house. However, it’s the perfect time for hopeful homeowners to pause, do some research and seriously consider their financial situation before making an offer.
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