Buyers Grow More Confident About Housing

You may need to do less convincing to get home shoppers to make their move in the housing market. Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index rose 2.2 percentage points in April, with five of six components rising that measure confidence in buying, employment, household incomes, financing, and more.

The share of Americans who say now is a good time to buy rose 5 percentage points in April. However, the net share of those saying now is a good time to sell fell 5 percentage points, the index showed.

“The Home Purchase Sentiment Index returned to its longer-term trend line after reclaiming ground last month,” says Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae’s chief economist. “This is aligned with our market forecast of about 3 percent sales growth in 2017. Historically strong inflation-adjusted house price gains are tempering consumer sentiment, whereas consumer optimism regarding the ease of getting a mortgage reached a survey high. On balance, housing continues on a gradual growth track.”

Here are more findings from Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index reading from April, which is based on a survey of about 1,000 consumers.

• 35%: the net share of Americans who say it’s a good time to buy a home, up 5 percentage points from March.
• 26%: the net percentage of consumers who say it’s a good time to sell, dropping 5 percentage points from last month’s all-time survey high.
• 45%: the net share of Americans who believe home prices will rise by 1 percentage point.
• 77%: the net share of consumers who say they’re not concerned about losing their job, up 7 percentage points from March.
• 13%: the net share of consumers who say their household income is significantly higher than it was 12 months ago, up 2 percentage points from March.

“Copyright National Association of REALTORS®. Reprinted with permission.”