American voters are worried about being able to afford homeownership amid high housing costs as the electorate prepares to vote in this fall’s midterm elections, a new poll shows.

A poll conducted for the National Association of Realtors by Public Opinion Strategies and Hart Research showed that more than half of voters (52 percent) say housing affordability is a very important voting issue to them.

Sentiment around the housing market remains at an all-time low, with the survey showing just 17% of voters believe now is a good time to buy a home, down from 69% in 2013.

Although headwinds affect housing affordabilityhomeownership remains a key part of what voters consider the American Dream, with 85% rating it as an essential part of the American Dream, up from 79% in 2013 with strong support across political groups.

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Home ownership remains a key part of how voters view the American Dream, the NAR poll showed. (Loren Elliott/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Tenants and other non-owners expressed concern that they would never be able to do so pay for home ownershipwith 76% of this group expressing the belief that they will never be able to afford to buy a home and 59% saying they want to buy but don’t have affordable options in their community.

In contrast, only 27 percent of all voters were worried about never being able to afford to buy a home, and only 21 percent cited a lack of affordable options in their community as a barrier.

Homeowners in the survey were asked about their reasons for moving, with 35% saying their current mortgage rate is low and they cannot afford a higher rate.

Additionally, 30% said they would like to buy another home but don’t have affordable options in their community, while 16% said they would like to sell but can’t pay taxes of the profit from the sale.

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Voters cited a lack of affordable housing as a key barrier to home ownership. (iStock/Getty Images Plus)

Voters across political groups generally said so federal government policies make it difficult to buy a home, with majorities of Democrats (56%) and independents (53%) along with a plurality of Republicans (41%) expressing this sentiment.

The NAR survey also measured respondents’ views on several Congress proposals aimed at improving housing accessibility.

More than four-fifths of all voters, 84%, expressed support for allowing would-be homebuyers to save tax-free money that can be used to buy a home, with more than 80% of all political groups.

More than three-quarters of voters, 76%, supported a proposal to provide a single option for sell your house without paying taxes on the profits. This idea was most strongly supported by Republicans (87%) and saw some skepticism among Democrats (65%).

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The NAR poll asked voters about proposals aimed at making housing more affordable. .

A similar proposal that would increase the amount of profit sellers can make before having to pay taxes was supported by two-thirds (67%) of voters, with Republicans (78%) and independents (66%) viewing the idea more favorably than Democrats (58%).

Offer tax incentives that require building developers to provide it affordable rents for low-income households was supported by 71% of voters, with Democrats more optimistic about the idea (90% support) than Republicans (53%).

Incentivizing rental property investors to sell homes to first-time home buyers was supported by 71% of voters, with similar levels of support across political groups.

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NAR and its polling partners then asked voters whether Congress passing these proposals would make it easier to buy or sell a home, and 64 percent of respondents said it would, compared with 9 percent who believe current federal policies make it easier to buy or sell a home.