Getting to Home Study Results
A Snapshot of Homeownership Opportunity in Louisiana
This statewide study, Getting to Home: A Snapshot of Homeownership Opportunity in Louisiana, was conducted in the summer of 2023 by the Louisiana REALTORS®, and was funded in part by the Louisiana REALTORS® Political Action Committee. SSA Consultants of Baton Rouge conducted the study.
The general focus of the study was barriers to homeownership and the design included a foundational set of four online surveys and a series of 31 individual interviews to capture the insights and perspectives of REALTORS®, including agents, brokers, and appraisers, mortgage banking professionals, and land title professionals actively working in Louisiana’s housing market. The study began in April 2023 and was completed in September 2023. The study findings include the following priority issues.
Interest Rates
The spike in mortgage interest rates since the fourth quarter of 2021 is recognized as a substantial barrier to homeownership. Study participants also recognize that the historically low interest rates enjoyed during the years of the pandemic are constraining the homebuying market today. Participants though, understand interest rates as a national commodity that rises and falls with national economic trends and federal policy. Consequently, the survey results include some cautious optimism that mortgage rates will peak and then moderate as the national inflation rate declines.
Homeowners Insurance
Dramatically increasing homeowners insurance premiums are recognized as a substantial barrier to homeownership. Study participants possess a solid understanding of homeowners insurance as a state-regulated product, the cost of which is influenced by state laws and regulations, and Louisiana’s geographical risks (i.e., hurricanes and floods). The rising costs of homeowners insurance is uniquely worrisome to study participants, because, unlike the interest rate issue, they are less certain about how the market for homeowners insurance improves and prices moderate. Study participants question if Louisiana can or will make meaningful change.
Flood Insurance
Dramatically increasing flood insurance premiums is recognized as a substantial barrier to homeownership. The study results indicate a solid grasp of flood insurance as a federal program (National Flood Insurance Program or “NFIP”) vital to insuring flood risk homes across Louisiana. Study results also indicate a general confusion and frustration with the Risk Rating 2.0 program changes.
The Affordability Problem
Affordability is the umbrella problem created by the current challenges with interest rates, homeowners insurance, and flood insurance, combined with the additional present barriers of general inflation, increasing home prices, and the lack of affordable housing choices/inventory. Study participants recognize that the affordability problem falls most heavily on young first-time homebuyers and other potential homebuyers seeking to buy in the lower price ranges.
You can view the results from the study by clicking here.
