America’s housing market is stuck in a stalemate, and one of the biggest reasons is this: more than one-third of homeowners are adamant they’ll never sell.
According to a survey commissioned by Redfin and conducted by Ipsos in September 2024, 34% of U.S. homeowners plan to stay in their homes indefinitely.
Another 27% say they won’t even consider selling for at least a decade. For many, it’s not just about liking where they live; it’s about the whopping cost of moving elsewhere.
The Generational Divide
Older generations, unsurprisingly, lead the charge in staying put. Among baby boomers, 43% say they’ll never sell, compared with 34% of Generation X and 28% of millennials and Gen Z homeowners.
For those older homeowners, the stability of a fully or nearly paid-off home is a powerful motivator to stay.
Younger homeowners, while slightly more open to the idea of selling, still face daunting obstacles. Soaring housing prices, skyrocketing mortgage rates, and the fear of trading up to unaffordable payments are keeping many from considering a move.
Why Are Homeowners Staying Put?
The survey showed that nearly 40% of homeowners not planning to sell anytime soon cite one key reason: they’ve paid off most or all of their mortgage. For these individuals, the financial freedom of living without fat monthly payments outweighs the appeal of a new home.
Another 37% simply like their homes and feel no need to move. A smaller but significant share (30%) points to today’s steep home prices as a deterrent, while 18% are reluctant to give up their rock-bottom mortgage rates from years past.
The economics of moving have rarely been this daunting. Home prices have climbed roughly 40% since the pre-pandemic era, and the average mortgage rate now sits at 6.91%, compared with under 4% in 2019.
For context, more than 85% of U.S. homeowners with mortgages currently enjoy rates below 6%, according to Redfin.
These hurdles make upgrading to a “better” home a hard sell. Marije Kruythoff, a Redfin Premier agent in Los Angeles, sums it up: “The just-because movers—those who just want a bigger or nicer house—are staying put, mostly because it’s so expensive to buy a new house.”
“The people who are selling are doing so because they need to. Either they’re relocating to a different part of the country, or they’re moving due to a major life event like having a baby or taking a new job on the opposite side of the city.”
The reluctance to sell is having a ripple effect. A mere 25 of every 1,000 U.S. homes changed hands during the first eight months of 2024—the lowest turnover rate in decades, Redfin reports.
Even though new listings are beginning to tick upward, the overall pace of transactions remains sluggish.
What This Means for the Future
With affordability concerns and generational preferences shaping the market, it’s clear that America’s housing stalemate isn’t ending anytime soon. Until prices or interest rates fall meaningfully, homeowners seem content to stay right where they are, tightening inventory and keeping the market locked in place.
For now, it seems that for many, home truly is where the heart—and the wallet—stays.
