• While "not having enough money for a down payment or closing costs" is still the greatest perceived obstacle to homeownership, only 29% of all adults cite it as a "major obstacle" in 1998, compared to 51% in 1992, and a high of 52% in 1996.  
• Twenty-six percent of adults cited "being able to find a home you like that you can afford" as a "major obstacle," which is far fewer than the peak year of 1996, when 49% said so.
• The percentage of adults who cite "not having enough confidence in the security of your job" as a "major obstacle" has fallen from a high of 48% in 1996 to just 13% today -- a nearly 70% decline.

• Only 13% of adults cite information barriers such as "not knowing how to get started buying a home" as a "major obstacle," down from a 1996 high of 32%. 
• The percentage who perceive having a "good enough credit rating to get a mortgage" as a "major obstacle" to homeownership has declined from a high of 38% in 1996 to just 16% today.
• Finally, the perception that "discrimination or social barriers" presents a "major obstacle" to homeownership has declined from a high of 18% among all adults in 1996 to just 6% today. (This matches findings from the Fannie Mae Foundation's survey of African American and Hispanic Attitudes on Homeownership, publicly released in April, which found that among blacks, the perception that they suffered from discrimination in mortgage lending "all or most of the time," had declined from 59% in 1993, to 40% in 1998; among Hispanics, the number declined from 40% in 1993, to 28% in 1998.  While still quite high, the progress indicated in these findings is significant).

Which one of the following best describes your plans for when you become an empty nester--will you remain in the house as it is now, remain in the house but make major renovations to reconfigure the house, sell the house and buy a new house, or sell the house and rent?

	All Adults	25-39	40-54
Remain in house as it is now	39	40	38
Remain but reconfigure house	14	15	15
Remain but reconfigure house	14	15	15
Sell and buy new house	27	25	30
Sell and rent house	4	4	5
Other	5	4	4
Do Not Own Home	4	4	4
Not Sure	7	8	4

In recent years, lenders have begun offering something called a reverse mortgage.  With a reverse mortgage, a person age sixty or older who has paid off their mortgage is eligible to borrow money based on the value of their home.  The loan is made in monthly payments to the person -- like a trust or annuity -- and can be used to pay medical bills, make improvements to the home, or for any other purposes.  The homeowner is guaranteed by the lender to never repay the loan as long as they are living in the home.  The loan is repaid to the lender after the homeowner has died and the home is sold.

How appealing do you find this type of loan, for your parents or for yourself, when you reach age sixty -- very appealing, somewhat appealing, not very appealing, not at all appealing, or would a reverse mortgage not apply to your situation?

What was the reason you took a home equity loan?

• While more Americans today have access to the Internet than in 1996, there has been no increase in the percentage who say they would likely finance a mortgage online.  Thirty-six percent of adults in 1996 said they had Internet access, either at home or at work, but today that number has jumped to 52%.  Yet, while 20% of adults two years ago said they would "probably or definitely try" originating a loan online, only 15% say so today.  Interestingly, there is virtually no difference in the percentage of Baby Boomers and Generation Xers who would try to originate a mortgage loan online.

  Suppose you were applying for a mortgage, either to buy a home or to refinance your current home.  How likely would you be to try a service that allowed you to handle all the paperwork involved in applying for a mortgage over an on-line computer service or the Internet -- would you definitely try it, probably try it, might consider it, or would you probably not try it?

• To discern how strong is the appeal of the so-called subprime market, respondents were asked whether it is better for a family with a poor credit history to buy a home now with a higher interest rate, or wait until such time as they have cleaned up their credit and might qualify for a lower-rate conventional mortgage. Fifty-eight percent of whites believe it is better for the family to wait, and only 30% say they should buy the home now. Interestingly, this same question was asked earlier this year in the Fannie Mae Foundation's Survey of African American and Hispanic Attitudes on homeownership. At that time, 71% of African Americans and 83% of Hispanics believed the family should wait.

If a family with a poor credit history were looking to buy a home, many lenders could offer them a mortgage with a more expensive interest rate than they would give a family with good credit. Do you think it would be better for this family to wait and try to clean up its credit rating before buying a home so that they can try to get a cheaper mortgage, which will help them save money in the long run; or do you think it would be better for them to buy a home now with the more expensive mortgage because they are better off owning a home while they try to improve their financial situation so that they don't waste any more money on rent?





	All Adults	25-39	40-54
Clean up credit and wait for cheaper mortgage	59	55	60
Buy a home now with more expensive mortgage	29	34	30
Depends	6	6	7
Not sure	6	5	3




• A plurality of Americans prefer to have a mortgage with higher payments and a shorter term to one with lower payments and a longer term.

  When you think about a home mortgage -- given your household financial goals and obligations right now -- are you more interested in finding the mortgage that offers the lowest possible monthly payment, even if it means paying it off over a longer period of time, or are you more interested in finding the mortgage that you can pay off the quickest, even if it means higher monthly payments?

  
  
  

  Lowest monthly payment/longer term	39
  High monthly payment/shortest term	45
  Does not apply	8
  Depends	5
  Not sure	3

  
  
  
• Similarly, a majority of Americans would prefer to pay off their mortgage as quickly as possible, rather than prolong their mortgage payments by using tax-advantaged home equity loans for any other purpose

  Thinking about the role of a home mortgage in your current household financial situation, which one of the following two statements comes closer to how you think about a home mortgage.

  Statement A: I am interested in paying off a mortgage as quickly as possible in order to build equity in my home and minimize the amount I pay in interest on my debt, or

  Statement B: I prefer to take advantage of the low interest rate and tax deductions on a mortgage to use the equity I have paid into my home to finance other investments, such as stocks or bonds, education expenses, or other things, and I will pay my mortgage off more slowly.

  
  
  

  Statement A/pay mortgage off more quickly	52
  Statement B/pay mortgage off more slowly	37
  Some of both	2
  Depends	3
  Not sure	6

  
  
  
• One reason why so few Americans state they have an interest in using the equity in their home is the very clear sense that a home represents security, and is not a liquid asset. When given a choice between whether a home should be viewed as "a piece of equity to be used to finance other parts of your life and is part of your net worth," or "a home is the bedrock of your financial security and you should only be concerned about paying off the mortgage and not using the equity for any other purposes," 55% agreed with the second statement and only 33% with the first.
• Seventy-nine percent of respondents believe that the "ideal age for a person to pay off his or her mortgage" is before the person is age 60.
• After two distinct refinance booms in the 1990s, more Americans have fixed-rate mortgages today than at any time in the past five years. Today, 56% of adults who own homes have a fixed-rate mortgage, and only 9% have adjustable rate mortgages (ARM), with 32% reporting they have no mortgage. Just three years ago, only 46% said they had a fixed-rate mortgage, while 11% had an ARM, and 36% had a paid off mortgage. The lower percentage of those with paid off mortgages today also reflect the increase in the homeownership rate, as more first-time home buyers have been created.
    
  
  
• Thirty-seven percent of homeowners say they have previously refinanced their current mortgage. Additionally, 16% say it is "somewhat to very likely" they will refinance their mortgage this year.