WASHINGTON—What does “living the good life” mean to consumers? A new study from Fannie Mae claims to have some answers.
“As part of a recent Fannie Mae National Housing Survey (NHS) special topic analysis, our Economic & Strategic Research (ESR) Group asked consumers which factors are most important to them as they consider ‘the good life’ – defined by the survey as the ‘life they’d like to have’ – and to assess the investment safety and financial potential of homeownership relative to other asset classes,” Fannie Mae said. “Many of the same questions were asked of consumers previously, and the latest survey showed that, despite higher home prices and home prices, consumers’ sense of ‘living the good life’ has remained largely unchanged, although there is interesting nuance when examining the data across race, age, income, and homeownership status.”
In a new Perspectives blog, Kevin Tillmann, Market Research Senior Associate, and Steve Deggendorf, Market Research Senior Director, discussed the results and the possible implications for the housing market.
The Findings
According to Fannie Mae, some of the key findings from the survey include:
- Consumers once again ranked financial security and good health at the very top of their “good life” list. Owning a home remains very important, with 86% of respondents saying so, but it ranked sixth out of the eleven possible options, roughly on par with having good friends (90%) and having a happy marriage or romantic relationship (86%). Additionally, more than twice as many consumers consider owning a home to be important compared to “owning really nice things,” such as cars, electronics, jewelry, or clothing (36%).
- The survey asked consumers to consider the financial and non-financial (or lifestyle) benefits derived from either owning or renting. Respondents overwhelmingly indicated that owning a home was preferable to renting in every aspect listed. The top three were having control over what you do with your living space (94%) to having a sense of privacy and security (91%) and having a good place for your family or to raise your children (90%) – all of which were essentially unchanged from the 2020 survey. “Having less stress” brought up the rear at a still-commanding 66%, up 10 percentage points from 2020, Fannie Mae said.
- The research also found relative stability in how consumers continue to view homes as an investment since 2010, when the ESR Group first began asking these questions, according to Fannie Mae. Overall, most homeowners (76%) in 2022 believed buying a home is a safe investment, though renters (59%) were a bit more skeptical of that position. The two groups were far more aligned when it comes to believing that buying a home has a lot of potential (75% homeowner, 70% renters) – survey highs for each.
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