Up to two million people are planning to jump into the housing market — when the time is right, according to a report released this week.

Nineteen percent of homeowners and 29% of renters are considering the purchase of a home within the next two years, according to the Hanley Wood “Housing 360 Survey,” which polled more than 3,000 people. Hanley Wood is a business-to-business media company focused on construction and design.

“We thought people would be soured after watching home values fall but instead we found the typical American still places high value on homeownership,” said Frank Anton, chief executive of Hanley Wood, in a news release. “We found this holds across all demographic groups and across the country, even in hard-hit places like Nevada and Arizona where there have been 50% or more declines in value. The increase in the rise of rental rates in many markets is one factor driving people to consider buying.”

But homeowners feel no urgency to buy a new home, especially given the turmoil in the markets, and are staying put for the time being, according to the report. Meanwhile, renters aren’t in a hurry because they face the hurdles of qualifying for a mortgage and worry about the economy and their jobs.

Read more real-estate news in this week’s pages, including the latest on mortgage rates and why right now might be the best time ever to buy a home.

While many Americans are hesitant to buy a home now, it’s not because they don’t think it’s a good time to do so. Seventy-two percent of homeowners and 59% of renters who participated in the Hanley Wood survey said that it’s a “good” or “very good” time to buy right now.

Capitalizing on ‘Gen Rent’

Real estate’s hottest niche market

Forget about the generational differences based upon age. The fastest-growing real estate opportunity today is making the move to working with “Gen Rent.”

While much has been written about generational differences, the tremendous number of foreclosures coupled with the decline in prices has seriously undermined the dream of homeownership for countless Americans.

Even though purchasing is often cheaper than renting in many places, high unemployment rates and more stringent credit standards mean an increasing number of people are no longer able to buy a home.

In the past, approximately 66 percent of all Americans owned their own home and 33 percent rented. Since the downturn began, approximately 10 million Americans have now moved from living in a home they own to living in a rental.

This translates to 1.8 million fewer homes that are owner-occupied, approximately 463,000 fewer transactions, and a whopping $4.2 billion less in commissions.