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If artificial intelligence begins replacing jobs, the housing market could be impacted, according to a new report from Redfin.
The listings portal and brokerage commissioned polling firm Ipsos to survey 4,000 Americans in November 2025, and found 59 percent of U.S. residents believe advances in artificial intelligence will eliminate jobs and make it harder for people to afford homes. Additionally, 63 percent of Democrats surveyed say advances in AI will eliminate jobs and make it harder to afford homes, while 57 percent of Republicans say the same thing.
Additionally, current policy surrounding immigration could impact the housing market. According to the poll, 52 percent of Americans believe that less immigration will drive up housing costs due to fewer construction workers and thus fewer homes being produced. The poll found 67 percent of Democrats agree with the statement while 40 percent of Republicans agree that less immigration will have a negative impact on the housing market.
Economic uncertainty has historically caused some homeowners to avoid listing their homes for sale. And less housing would particularly impact Massachusetts which needs to add over 220,000 rental and for-sale units in the next 10 years just to keep up with demand, according to Healey administration estimates. Additionally, an economic downturn could be particularly impactful as Massachusetts is one of the more costly housing markets in the United States, particularly in Boston.
According to The Warren Group, the publisher of Banker & Tradesman, the median single-family home price in Massachusetts is $612,500. In Greater Boston, that number shoots up $767,500.
The report comes as the U.S. economy is already dealing with the ramifications of the Trump administration’s war against Iran. Gas prices have increased and mortgage interest rates have shot upwards. A separate Redfin-sponsored poll of 1,005 Americans conducted by Ipsos in early March found about 25 percent of Americans are delaying or canceling plans for a major purchase, like a home or car, because of the war. Fifty-six percent told pollsters they aren’t changing their plans.
“The economic forecast in the projections interestingly showed expectations of higher inflation, including core inflation (which excludes food and energy prices) in 2026, but was unchanged for the unemployment rate and showed higher, not lower, economic growth this year,” Redfin Head of Economic Research Chen Zhao said in a commentary on the Federal Reserve’s decision this week to hold interest rates steady. “This was despite broad expectations that the Iran war should be a stagflationary development, meaning higher inflation and lower economic growth.”
