Americans’ Interest In Housing Market Heats Up
As spring approaches, there’s always an increase in the number of Americans who express interest in buying or selling a house. For many reasons, spring is traditionally the season when the housing market heats up. So, it’s no surprise that Fannie Mae’s most recent monthly measure of Americans’ feelings about the housing market shows an increase in optimism. In fact, the number of survey respondents who said now was a good time to buy a house rose 3 percent from the month before and the number who feel it’s time to sell rose to a new survey high. In other words, interest is high. But, according to Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae’s chief economist, it’s difficult to say yet how the market will perform this year. “Results may continue to fluctuate over the coming months as consumers sort out the implications of the newly passed tax legislation on their household finances,” Duncan said. However, with high interest from buyers and sellers, and a growing economy, early signs point to a busy spring for the housing market.
The Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index® (HPSI) rose 3.7 points in January to 89.5, reversing the decrease seen last month and reaching a new all-time survey high. The increase can be attributed to increases in five of the six HPSI components. The net share of respondents who said now is a good time to buy a home increased 3 percentage points compared to December. Additionally, the net share who reported that now is a good time to sell a home increased 4 percentage points and is now up 23 percentage points year over year. The net share who said home prices will go up in the next 12 months increased 8 percentage points in January, while Americans also expressed a greater sense of job security, with the net share who say they are not concerned about losing their job increasing 5 percentage points. Finally, the net share of consumers who said mortgage rates will go down over the next 12 months increased 2 percentage points in January, while the net share reporting that their income is significantly higher than it was 12 months ago remained flat.
Source: This report is taken from AppraisalNewsCast, an appraisal news blog