A new survey shows fewer consumers than ever think it’s a good time to buy a house – but there’s a lot of optimism among sellers
Fewer people than ever before think it’s a good time to buy a home, according to new data from Fannie Mae.
Fannie Mae’s latest Home Purchase Sentiment Index showed that the share of Americans who feel that it’s a good time to buy a home has dipped to 30%, an all-time survey low.
And while the percentage of Americans who think it’s a good time to sell rose 16 percentage points in April, other indicators on the index were mixed. More Americans are confident about not losing their jobs, but the share of survey respondents who said their income was significantly higher than it had been 12 months ago stayed essentially flat.
Still, Fannie Mae senior vice president and chief economist Doug Duncan was optimistic about the market’s potential this year.
“We can partially attribute the sizable gain in April in home selling optimism both to a correction for last month’s unexpected dip and to typical seasonal strength in housing activity in the spring and summer,” Duncan said. “Even after accounting for these factors, continued tight housing supply has led to renewed strength in home price appreciation, making selling a home a more attractive prospect this year in particular. This improved sentiment could provide an extra boost of much-needed supply for the spring selling season.”
Fannie Mae’s latest Home Purchase Sentiment Index showed that the share of Americans who feel that it’s a good time to buy a home has dipped to 30%, an all-time survey low.
And while the percentage of Americans who think it’s a good time to sell rose 16 percentage points in April, other indicators on the index were mixed. More Americans are confident about not losing their jobs, but the share of survey respondents who said their income was significantly higher than it had been 12 months ago stayed essentially flat.
Still, Fannie Mae senior vice president and chief economist Doug Duncan was optimistic about the market’s potential this year.
“We can partially attribute the sizable gain in April in home selling optimism both to a correction for last month’s unexpected dip and to typical seasonal strength in housing activity in the spring and summer,” Duncan said. “Even after accounting for these factors, continued tight housing supply has led to renewed strength in home price appreciation, making selling a home a more attractive prospect this year in particular. This improved sentiment could provide an extra boost of much-needed supply for the spring selling season.”
