June 28, 2003 /National Report — Fifty-two percent of U.S. households expect the cost of a new home to go up in the next six months, according to a monthly survey. The number of U.S. households actively shopping for a new home in June held steady at 10 percent, the same as last month. About 16 percent of homeowners said they "may" purchase a new home in the coming year, a percentage that remained constant with last month as well, according to a monthly national survey conducted by Leo J. Shapiro and Associates in Chicago.

According to the poll, fewer respondents said they think the cost of a new home will be higher in six months than it is now. About 52 percent expect the cost to go up, compared with 62 percent expecting a price hike a year ago.

Buying a Home? Get a Home Warranty Plan.
For many couples, getting married means buying (or selling) a home. Be smart. Get a home warranty plan to protect you from unexpected repair costs on appliances, heating, electrical and plumbing systems. Plans start at around $25 a month and could end up saving you hundreds of dollars in repair costs.
Click here to compare plans and costs.

Active shopping is defined by visits to homes and models, contacts with realtors and reading of advertisements for homes. Each month, a new sample of 450 households is surveyed. Interviews are done by telephone and divided about equally between the woman and man of the house.

The survey, which is projectable to continental U.S. households who are telephone subscribers, has been done continuously since 1975 and is based on 5,400 interviews annually. For more details, visit HCN's How the consumer feels.