Following a recent dip in consumer housing optimism, most indicators have rebounded to the modestly positive trend seen throughout 2014, according to results from Fannie Mae’s September 2014 National Housing Survey.
Turbulent geo-political factors likely weighed on Americans’ attitudes toward the housing market during the past couple of months. In September, the share of consumers who said now is a good time to buy a home climbed back up to 68 percent, a four-percentage-point increase from August. Additionally, the share saying they would prefer to buy a home on their next move ticked back up to 66 percent after a three-point drop. The results also show a notable jump in consumers’ views toward the economy, with 40 percent of those surveyed saying it is now on the right track — a five-percentage-point increase from the previous month.
“The September National Housing Survey shows a slight recovery in consumer housing sentiment after a two-month setback, bringing us back to the modestly positive trend we’ve seen over the last year,” Fannie Mae Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Doug Duncan said. “It might be too late to save this year’s home sales from posting the first decline in five years. However, the return to an upward trend in housing sentiment, combined with this month’s positive news on the job front, suggests that a broad-based, albeit measured, housing recovery is on track to resume in 2015. The results of the past few months show that consumer optimism remains cautious and somewhat volatile, and we’ll likely continue to see bumps on the housing recovery path reflected in our survey results.”
Homeownership and renting survey highlights
- The average 12-month home price change expectation rose to 2.2 percent.
- The share of respondents who said home prices will go up in the next 12 months rose to 45 percent. The share who said home prices will go down decreased to 8 percent.
- The share of respondents who said mortgage rates will go up in the next 12 months fell by five percentage points to 45 percent.
- Those who said it is a good time to buy a house rose to 68 percent. Those who said it is a good time to sell also increased to 39 percent.
- The average 12-month rental price change expectation fell to 3.2 percent.
- The percentage of respondents who expect home rental prices to go up in the next 12 months increased to 55 percent.
- The share of respondents who think it would be difficult to get a home mortgage today decreased by one percentage point.
- The share who said they would buy if they were going to move rose to 66 percent, while the share who would rent decreased to 28 percent.
Economy and household finances survey highlights
- The share of respondents who said the economy is on the right track jumped by five percentage points from last month to 40 percent.
- The percentage of respondents who expect their personal financial situation to get better over the next 12 months fell to 41 percent.
- The share of respondents who said their household income is significantly higher than it was 12 months ago increased by two percentage points to 25 percent.
- The share of respondents who said their household expenses are significantly higher than they were 12 months ago increased slightly to 37 percent.