Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- A Redfin poll reveals 39% of Americans are less likely to make major purchases.
- President Donald Trump's tariffs cause economic uncertainty, influencing consumer spending and delaying purchases.
- Mortgage rates fluctuate amid recession fears, potentially benefiting homebuyers with stable or lower prices.
SALT LAKE CITY — Americans say President Donald Trump's on-again, off-again tariffs have made them less likely to buy a home or make another major purchase this year.
That's according to a new poll for the nation's largest brokerage website, Seattle-based Redfin, which found 39% of people surveyed around the country say they're much less likely to shell out for something big this year, while another 16% labeled themselves a little less likely.
Just 13% said the president's tariff policies, which have triggered significant volatility in markets worldwide, would make them more likely — or even a little more likely — to buy a home, car or other big-ticket item in 2025.
Another 31% told pollsters their plans haven't changed because of the tariffs that began rolling out earlier this year. The new charges on imported goods have since been subject to repeated starts and stops, including a recently implemented pause on so-called reciprocal tariffs.
Asked separately about how the tariffs are affecting their timeline for making a major purchase, nearly a third, 32% said they were delaying such spending, while nearly a quarter, 24%, were canceling their plans. Some 17% had either already or were going to buy sooner than planned.
The poll of 1,004 U.S. adults was conducted by Ipsos between April 10-14, Redfin said.
The possibility of a recession is having an impact, said Redfin economics lead Chen Zhao.
"Betting markets have the odds of a recession at higher than 50%, which is understandably making people wary of putting a big chunk of their money toward a house or a car," Zhao said, citing a recent Wall Street Journal article.
"Consumers are tightening their belts because they are rightly nervous about their job security and the prospect of paying more for everyday expenses," she said, adding the financial turmoil could ultimately help make homes more affordable.
"There are some potential silver linings for homebuyers: The drop in demand could cause home prices to stay flat, or even fall, and there's some chance mortgage rates could drop in the next few months," Zhao said.
Mortgage rates have reacted to the economic uncertainty.
A week ago, Mortgage News Daily reported daily mortgage rates rose above 7%. But by Thursday, the site listed the daily fixed-rate 30-year mortgage rate at 6.87%, thanks to "a nice amount of progress this week after hitting the highest levels in roughly two months last Friday."
But the weekly average from the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, better known as Freddie Mac, has stayed below 7% for 13 consecutive weeks. Thursday's 6.83% weekly average fixed-rate 30-year mortgage rate was up 0.21 percentage points from the previous week.
Utahns are split over the impact of Trump's tariffs, a new Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll found. When it comes to the U.S. economy, 55% of Utahns polled think the effect will be negative, and 44% think it will be positive. Just 2% said they see no impact on the nation's economy.
The poll for the Deseret News and the University of Utah institute was conducted by HarrisX Interactive April 9-12 of 800 registered Utah voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
