Some Americans are changing plans because they’re directly impacted by the shutdown, and others are wary of making a big purchase because of economic uncertainty. But most are moving forward with purchases.
Roughly one in six (17%) Americans are delaying a major purchase like a home or car because of the federal government shutdown, according to a new Redfin survey. Another 7% are canceling plans for a major purchase altogether.
The majority of Americans (65%) said the government shutdown has no impact on their purchasing plans.
This is according to a Redfin-commissioned survey conducted by Ipsos on October 3, 2025. The nationally representative survey was fielded to 1,005 U.S. residents. The combined results have a credibility interval of +/- 3.8 percentage points.
The U.S. government partially shut down on October 1 after lawmakers were unable to agree on a budget. That means pay has been suspended for roughly 2 million federal workers, 750,000 furloughed and the rest expected to work without compensation, though they are typically entitled to backpay once an agreement is reached. It’s worth noting that the White House is considering not paying furloughed federal employees for time they didn’t work during this shutdown, according to reports. Millions of other Americans who technically work for private companies also go without pay during a shutdown because their projects rely on federal grants or contracts. While the length of the shutdown is unknown, it’s likely the government will re-open by mid-October.
Some people are canceling or delaying big purchases because they’re directly impacted by the government shutdown; i.e. they’re a federal government employee or contractor who is not currently getting paid, and they may be worried about getting laid off. But most Americans aren’t in that position. People whose incomes aren’t directly dependent on the federal government’s budget may be rethinking a major purchase because the shutdown is one more in a long line of events making Americans feel unstable about their finances.
The shutdown is exacerbating an already uncertain U.S. economy:
- August 2025 Redfin-Ipsos survey: More than two in five American workers reported delaying or canceling a major purchase due to concerns about job security, and 37% of workers reported they were more worried about their job security than at the start of the year.
- April 2025 Redfin-Ipsos survey: 24% of Americans said they were canceling plans to make a major purchase because of President Trump’s newly announced tariffs, and another 32% were delaying plans.
“A government shutdown doesn’t just stop paychecks for some federal employees–it shakes the financial confidence of Americans,” said Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather. “People across the country are taking in the news and thinking, ‘we’ve faced inflation, tariffs, job losses, a volatile stock market, and now a government shutdown–what’s next?’ It’s understandable that some people are reconsidering buying a home or a car when the economy feels uncertain.”
Although it’s technically a buyer’s market, it’s a tough time to buy a home even putting economic uncertainty aside. Mortgage rates have come down from their peak but are still double pandemic-era lows, and home-sale prices remain stubbornly high despite slow sales.
“The market is a bit slow partly because it’s so expensive to buy a home, and partly because people are feeling uneasy politically and economically,” said Josh Felder, a Redfin Premier agent in San Francisco. “People are pressing pause on their house hunts because they’re uncertain about their jobs, the stock market, tariffs, and where the economy is going to go in the next several months or years.”
It’s worth emphasizing that for most Americans, the government shutdown has no impact on their timeline for making a major purchase. Amid the uncertainty, many people have stable jobs and/or savings and investments, and feel secure buying something like a house or a car. Many other people simply don’t feel the shutdown affects them.
