Several factors, such as high prices and mortgage rates, and lack of supply, are impacting the affordability of homes in the U.S. for many prospective buyers, making affordability the top reason they aren't buying, according to the latest Experiences & Barriers of Prospective Home Buyers: Members Study released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

“Home buyers face the most difficult affordability conditions in nearly 40 years due to limited inventory and rising澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询: mortgage interest rates,” said Jessica Lautz, NAR’s deputy chief economist and vice president of research, in a statement. “The impact is exacerbated among first-time buyers who are more likely to be from underrepresented segments of the population."

About 77% of prospective home buyers have applied for and been approved for loans, and only 6% of buyers apply for but are denied home loans, likely due to low credit scores and insufficient 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:down payments, NAR studies showed.

However, saving enough 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:money for a down payment can be a struggle, with 53% of realtors citing it as an obstacle. Respondents cite rent/mortgage payments and credit card p🥃ayments as barri🙈ers to saving. 

Although there are 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:down payment assistance programs, many people are unaware of them, with only 23% of realtors saying that their buyers have applied for down payment assistance progr♐ams.

Among those who were aware of assistance programs, 30% could not qualify because their income was too high. According to consumers, the top reason for not applying for these programs is a lack of awareness.

Black, Asian, and Hispan🐬ic Home Buyers Fa🔯ce Additional Challenges

Black, Asian, and Hispanic homebuyers also cited affordability as the main reason they hesitate to buy. Still, the people in these groups face additional discrimination challenges, according to the Experiences and Barriers of Prospective Homebuyers Across Races/Ethnicities study, also by the NAR.

More than half of Black, Asian, and Hispanic buyers 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:reported discrimination due to race or ethnicity. This most often took the form of being steered toward or away from specific neighborhoods or stricter requirements, according to the report.