Nearly half of U.S. homeowners did not consider moving in the past 12 months, a sign of growing housing market inertia even as mortgage rates have eased from recent highs, according to a new study from home equity financing platform, Point.
The share of homeowners who said they did not consider moving rose to 48%, up from 41% two years ago, the study found.
At the same time, the reasons behind the slowdown are shifting. About 29% of homeowners who canceled moving plans cited life circumstances such as job loss, family changes or caregiving responsibilities, nearly double the 16% reported in 2024.
Meanwhile, mortgage rates have become a less prominent barrier. The share of homeowners citing rates as a reason not to move fell to 45%, down from 55% two years ago. That shift comes as weekly average mortgage rates declined by nearly 100 basis points over the same period, according to Freddie Mac data.
“For years, the story of housing gridlock has been about mortgage rates and home prices, but Point data shows something more fundamental is shifting beneath the surface: life itself is prompting people to stay put,” said Aaron Terrazas, an economist at Point. “Broader economic uncertainty beyond the cold calculus of interest rates has become a bigger barrier to mobility.”
Terrazas noted that uncertainty around jobs, family stability and the broader economy is changing homeowner behavior. “I think the reasons why people are locked in their homes are less and less around mortgage rates in the housing market, and more and more around all of the family and personal life stuff and some turmoil happening in the economy,” Terrazas said in an interview with HousingWire.
The decline in mobility is contributing to long-standing supply constraints in the housing market. With fewer existing homeowners listing their homes, inventory remains tight, limiting options for first-time buyers and reducing overall transaction activity.
Even among homeowners who still view mortgage rates as a barrier, expectations have tightened. About 83% now say they would need rates below 5% to consider moving, up from 64% in 2024.
“The reality is that life catches up, and people move past this psychological aversion to letting go of their mortgage rates. Life happens, and you can only stand waiting for financial conditions to improve for so long,” Terrazas said.
Rather than move, many homeowners are choosing to invest in their current homes. Nearly half (49%) of would-be movers say they plan to renovate instead, and 65% of all homeowners expect to complete some type of renovation within the next 18 months, the study found.
Common projects include bathroom remodels (31%) and kitchen renovations (27%). About 25% of homeowners plan to expand their homes by adding an extension, building an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) or finishing unfinished space rather than trading up. More than one-third of renovation-planning homeowners expect to spend $30,000 or more on their projects.
“Renovation is a natural place to look when people can’t move up, for people who have been in their home for some time,” Terrazas said. “As the baby boomer generation moves into their mid to late 70s, I think we’re going to see a lot of those people choose to renovate and also have to renovate to adjust the situation to their physical needs.”
The shift toward renovation is colliding with a financing challenge. Roughly six in 10 homeowners say they need financing for home improvement projects, but many say traditional options are too expensive. Among those not planning to use a home equity line of credit or cash-out refinance, 33% cited high interest rates as a barrier.
“American homeowners are sitting on record levels of home equity, but a meaningful share of the population is locked out of accessing that wealth,” said Eddie Lim, co-founder and CEO of Point. “Whether it’s the inability to sell, or the inability to get affordable financing, traditional paths to home equity just aren’t working for a lot of people right now.”
Lim said that gap is where alternative equity solutions come in. “That’s exactly the gap home equity investments were designed to fill — giving homeowners a way to tap their equity without taking on new debt or monthly payments, regardless of where rates go.”
