Mortgage hopes hinge on 6%: 47% would buy

A new TurboHome–ResiClub Housing Sentiment Survey for Q2 2026 finds affordability pressures are still keeping many people on the sidelines, but the psychology of a sub-6% mortgage rate remains powerful: 47% of homeowners say they’d accept up to a 6% mortgage r

By late spring, many American homeowners have accepted a simple reality: their next mortgage may look nothing like the one they already have. Even so, a specific number still holds emotional weight.

In the latest TurboHome–ResiClub Housing Sentiment Survey for Q2 2026, 430 U.S. adults were interviewed between April 21 and May 21. It was the third time ResiClub and TurboHome ran this particular survey, following Q1 2025 and Q3 2025.

The survey—conducted to track how consumer attitudes are shifting around home prices, mortgage rates, agent commissions, and housing affordability—pairs expert local agents with a digital platform that also uses AI tools designed to help homebuyers reduce transaction costs.

When homeowners were asked what would make them move, the answer wasn’t complicated. Many said their current home still fits their lifestyle and needs. But affordability still cuts through that comfort.

Roughly 20% of respondents said either elevated mortgage rates or high home prices are the biggest reason they aren’t moving right now. Another roughly 10% of surveyed homeowners said their current mortgage rate is too low to give up.

That helps explain why only a minority of homeowners described themselves as “very likely” to purchase a home within the next 24 months. A larger share said they were either unlikely or uncertain about buying in the near term.

Yet the survey also shows how quickly that caution could soften if the market shifted.

A third of homeowners surveyed said they would be somewhat more likely (23%) or much more likely (10%) to buy a home if mortgage rates fell below 6%. The threshold matters not just financially, but mentally—people are still treating it like a line they can cross.

Homeowners also expect a gentler picture for prices. In Q1 2025, nearly 30% of homeowners expected local home prices to rise by at least 4% over the next 12 months. That share dropped to 13% by Q3 2025, and it was 14% in Q2 2026.

The expectations for stability or decline told a similar story. In Q1 2025, 24% of homeowners expected prices to stay flat or decline over the next 12 months; that climbed to 55% in Q3 2025 before easing slightly to 44% in Q2 2026.

Even with that caution, homeowners aren’t expecting a crash. Only 14% of respondents in Q2 2026 said they expect prices in their local market to decline by 4% or more over the next year.

Broader national sentiment is also cautious. Across all U.S. adults surveyed—including homeowners. renters. and those living with family or friends rent-free—45% expect prices in their local housing market to either stay flat or decline over the next 12 months. Regionally, sentiment was weakest in the Southwest and West, where respondents showed the highest shares expecting stagnation or falling prices.

Mortgage-rate expectations are similarly split, with many homeowners planning for a middle range rather than a breakthrough. Among U.S. homeowners surveyed, 50% expect the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate to be between 6% and 7% in 12 months. Eight percent expect it to be above 7%, while 41% expect it to be below 6%.

But the survey’s most direct measure of “how much can people stomach” points right back to the same emotional anchor.

In Q1 2025, only 41% of homeowners said they would accept a mortgage rate up to 6% on their next home purchase. That climbed to 52% in Q3 2025, then eased slightly to 47% in Q2 2026.

Acceptance at slightly lower rates shows a similar slow retreat from early-2025 optimism. In Q1 2025, 54% of homeowners said they’d accept a rate up to 5.5%; that figure was 63% in Q2 2026. And at the higher end. tolerance is fading: in Q2 2026. no respondents said they would accept a mortgage rate of 7.5% or higher on their next purchase. down from roughly 7% in Q1 2025.

Even as mortgages define the mood, the survey also reveals how buyers want the process to change.

Among U.S. homeowners surveyed, 77% said they found their most recent home themselves, while only 22% said their agent located the property for them. In other words, homeowners are already treating the initial search as something they can do.

Technology also matters in how people judge agents. Among homeowners surveyed, 85% said they would prefer an agent who uses technology to reduce costs if service quality stayed the same or improved.

When it comes to working with agents, cost and structure are starting to edge into the conversation more than before. Overall, 56% of U.S. homeowners surveyed said they would be either “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to work with a licensed agent and save money using a lower-fee brokerage.

Despite growing commission skepticism, homeowners still described real value in many agent relationships. Among homeowners surveyed, 71% said their last real estate agent provided either “very valuable” or “somewhat valuable” services.

At the same time, the industry’s pricing model is widely viewed as too expensive. Nationally, more than two-thirds of homeowners surveyed said traditional real estate commissions—with the total typically around 5% to 6% of the home’s sale price—are either “somewhat too high” or “much too high.”

The tension—trusting individual agents while questioning the broader commission structure—appears in regional responses as well. When asked specifically about compensation today, respondents in every region leaned toward believing agents are overcompensated rather than undercompensated.

The survey connects this skepticism to a moment in the industry’s public narrative: homeowners point to the post-2024 scrutiny that followed the National Association of Realtors (NAR) commission lawsuit settlement in 2024. Across all regions surveyed. a sizable share of homeowners said they believe real estate agent commissions in their local market are either unchanged or only slightly lower than they were three years ago.

That perception helps explain why homeowners are increasingly open to alternative brokerage models and technology-enabled agents that promise lower transaction costs.

For prospective buyers, service quality still comes first. Among respondents surveyed. 62.5% said service and communication quality mattered most when selecting a real estate agent. while agent experience ranked second at 35%. Still, 26.3% said they selected the lowest commission or fee as their top priority.

And when buyers imagine the compensation model they’d prefer, they show flexibility rather than a single rigid preference. Among prospective buyers surveyed. roughly 34% said their most preferred compensation structure for buyer’s agents was a commission between 2% and 2.99%. followed by 23% who said they most prefer a flat fee structure.

What emerges from the Q2 2026 results is a market where affordability pressure hasn’t disappeared. and where many people are still waiting for mortgage rates to move in a way they can feel. At the same time. consumers appear increasingly willing to challenge how transactions are priced and delivered—so long as the help they want is still there.

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