Americans are getting more optimistic about the housing market after a recent dip in sentiment
Americans are getting more optimistic about the housing market after a recent dip in sentiment, according to new data from Fannie Mae. The jump in optimism, along with positive employment data, spurred hopes for a modest housing recovery in 2015.
Fannie’s September National Housing Survey shows the share of consumers who say now is a good time to buy is up to 68%, a four-point increase from August. The share who say they would prefer to buy a home the next time they move ticked up to 66%, a three-point improvement. And the share of consumers who say the economy is on the right track made a five-point jump to 40%.
“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,” said Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae. “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 jobs 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.”
The majority of consumers – 55% – think rental prices will go up in the next 12 months, while the share who say they would rent on their next move dropped to 28%.
