The National Association of Home Builders concluded a new survey of consumer buying preferences and found some interesting results. As the nation’s leaders attempt to craft a stimulus package that would, among other things, incentivize consumers to buy houses, the results of this survey acquire additional importance. Chief among the lawmakers solutions is a ‘tax credit’ for home buyers. Yet the results of this survey suggest that a combination of financing and price concessions are more likely to convince consumers to buy a home.

From the survey, among 700 self-described ‘fence sitters’ asked why they hadn’t yet purchased house here’s what they said:
1) 44% are holding out for lower interest rates
2) 41% aren’t sure they qualify for financing
3) 38% are waiting for housing prices to fall even lower.

Asked what it would take to to get past their concerns, the survey suggested that a tax credit alone would NOT be sufficient motivation as a home buying incentive. In fact, tax credits ranked 6th on the list of top 10 things that would motivate buyers. The most effective feature would be a fixed interest rate of 3% which ranked twice as effective as a 3% ARM. A ‘no down payment’ option was ranked twice as effective an enticement as a 10% down. Guarantee of mortgage approval for ‘fair’ risk credit borrowers ranked high in the survey. And, of course, price was a high ranking concern. A 10% below true market value was given as a truly compelling incentive for would be home purchasers. Features that didn’t hold much value to home buyers were ‘free builder upgrades’ or ‘green’ energy efficient incentives.