Only 5 Percent Plan to Buy a Home Next Year

Just one in twenty Americans say they plan to buy a home within the next year, and they're most likely to be 34 years old or younger and living in the South or West, according to a survey released recently.

Roughly a quarter of potential buyers said the No. 1 reason they would buy now is because prices have bottomed out. That reason topped bargain-priced foreclosures, worries about rising interest rates and a wide selection of homes.

The survey reveals how Americans are responding to a fragile housing recovery after three years of staggering price declines. The percentage of buyers thinking of jumping into the market was down slightly from a March survey, but up about 1 point from a poll in June.

Recent housing figures and homebuilder earnings support a stabilizing housing market, and concerns about the expiration of federal homebuyer tax credit are moot after Congress extended and expanded the credit.

Buyers who have owned in their current homes for at least five years are eligible for tax credits of up to $6,500, while first-time homebuyers — or anyone who hasn't owned a home in the last three years — would still get up to $8,000. To qualify, buyers have to sign a purchase agreement by April 30, 2010, and close by June 30.

The telephone poll, which was conducted before the credit extension, included about two-thirds homeowners and one-third renters. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.