In New Survey, U.S. Homeowners are Pessimistic About the Economy and the Housing Market

50% of America is Stressing About Personal Finances

In a new survey released today (Thursday), homeowners expressed pessimism and uncertainty about both the economy in general and the housing market specifically. They are also stressing over personal finances, with nearly half of all homeowners (49%) citing their personal finances as the greatest source of stress they face right now.

See what’s stressing U.S. homeowners…

This new survey was conducted by Atomik Research and commissioned by Unlock Technologies, a financial services company with programs designed to help homeowners. What’s remarkable about the findings in this latest survey (Unlock had conducted this same survey at the beginning of the year in January) is that they come in the wake of the recent popular decision by the Federal Reserve Board last month to reduce interest rates by a quarter of a percent in an effort to spur growth in the economy.

Even though some had anticipated that the Fed would drop rates by a half percent, the lesser quarter-point drop in rates was still expected to exert a positive influence on investors and the overall market. But analysts at Unlock say that was not the case.

Too Little, Too Late

In the survey, homeowners signaled that the Federal Reserve’s recent rate drop “is too little, too late,” according to the announcement of the survey results. Nearly 6 out of 10 homeowners (59%) say that the interest rate cut by the Fed does not motivate them to take any action at all – neither to buy or sell a home, nor to refinance, nor to take on any additional debt.

Even though this is expected to be the first of several rate drops, the trickledown effect is not motivating homeowners to take significant action, whether to move, refinance, pay off debt or take on more debt. They’re operating from a place of worry, with most anticipating having to spend even more in 2026 on household expenses and many working with little to no emergency fund.

Michael Micheletti, Unlock Technologies Chief Marketing Officer

40% of Americans Say They Are Worse Off Financially Than Last Year

A majority of homeowners (54%) say they are feeling uncertain or pessimistic about the U.S. economy right now. And fully four out of ten (40%) say they are worse off financially now than they were a year ago.

What is bedeviling them? Well, for one thing, homeowners complain about household expenses being a persistent problem. Fully 55% of homeowners say they expect to spend more in 2026 than they did in 2025 to cover household expenses. That finding alone is 7% higher than what homeowners responded to the same question in the January 2025 survey.

Pervasive Pessimism and a Feeling of Financial Fragility

As mentioned above, almost half of all homeowners (49%) say their personal finances are the greatest stressor in their lives today. It’s worth noting that this figure is even higher for specific generations, such as Millennials, 58% of whom identify personal finances as their greatest stressor. It remains the greatest stressor for all generations – even higher than the death of a loved one (38%) and personal injury or illness (37%).

Millennials have had a tougher time in this economy entering the housing market than preceding generations. [This is in part because] they have been saddled with more debt from rising education costs and the impact of the Great Recession. However, we also see the margins between stressors narrowing for Gen Xers and Baby Boomers. As part of the ‘sandwich generation,’ they may feel the added pressure of helping children financially while also caring for aging parents.

M. Micheletti

An Alarming Lack of Preparedness for the Unexpected

Yet another factor identified by the survey as a potential contributor to homeowners’ overall stress is an alarming lack of preparedness for unexpected expenses. Regardless of age group, more than a third of all survey respondents reported that they had less than $1,000 set aside in an emergency savings fund. This finding is also remarkably higher than the January survey, when only 24% of respondents said that.

Perhaps even more alarming, 27% said they had less than $500 – or none at all – saved for emergencies. This is like walking a tight-rope ten stories high…without a safety net.

Housing Market Future Remains Cloudy

Still, there was some good news from this study. For example, 77% of homeowners said they “still believe that owning a home is one of the best ways to grow personal wealth, and 60% say that having home equity provides an extra level of security,” Micheletti said. “Yet, as we head into the last quarter of the year, we see homeowners facing continued high prices, rates that aren’t motivating them to take action, and high levels of stress.”

Consider the impact on the economy of these final points from the survey:

• Only 25% of survey respondents said that they believe that 2026 “will be a good year to buy a house.”
• 59% say that they are not likely to purchase a new home until a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is 6% or lower (currently 6.3%-6.4% as of this writing)
• 92% say they wouldn’t consider a cash-out refinance until rates drop to 6% or below (currently 6.6% as of this writing)

See more on this study by following this link…