WASHINGTON—Not surprisingly, the high prices for gas, food, and medical care are key concerns for consumers, according to a new survey from Fannie Mae reveals.
The Fannie Mae National Housing Survey (NHS) special topic analysis examined some of the challenges that consumers are facing amid high levels of inflation and increasing household debt, including the ability to save money and pay for necessities.
“Specifically, the survey asked consumers a number of questions related to saving and planned purchase behavior, including whether rising prices raised concerns about their ability to afford not only large-ticket items, like home improvement or vehicle purchases, but also common household expenses such as gas, food, medical care, and housing payments,” Fannie Mae said.
Key Findings
According to Fannie Mae, key findings from the survey include:
- Amid rising prices, surveyed consumers’ top areas of concern were gas, food, and medical care. More than one-third of consumers expect their ability to pay for food (35%), medical care (34%), and gas (33%) will be impacted in the next 12 months (as of September). Further, among those surveyed in September, 26% of consumers expressed concern about making future mortgage/rent payments, up from 18% in April. This concern was far higher among renters (39%) than mortgage holders (22%), Fannie Mae said.
- Consumer stress over their ability to make debt payments in Q3 2022 (35% very/somewhat stressed) was higher than it’s been historically – primarily driven by credit card debt. This is 10 percentage points higher than the last time we asked the question in Q2 2020 (25%), at the beginning of the pandemic.
- As debt stress mounts for renters, their ability to save for a down payment on a home will be further challenged. “This may continue to limit first-time homebuyers and drive a continued demographic shift in homebuying, which now favors even more heavily wealthier consumers,” Fannie Mae stated.
- A growing share of mortgage borrowers report being stressed in their ability to make debt payments as well as an inability to save money. “This points to a risk that a growing share of current borrowers may be vulnerable to becoming delinquent on their mortgage payments if they were to experience a job or other income loss,” Fannie Mae explained.
- For the broader economy, consumers may soon cut back their spending to a greater degree, adding to risk of a recession occurring over the next year. “If this were to occur, it would likely reduce demand for housing and provide lesser support for home sales, home prices, and mortgage originations,” Fannie Mae said.
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