Fannie Mae found that most renters in September thought now is a good time to buy a house
.jpg)
Consumers were more confident about the housing market in September as renter optimism offset a drop in the net share of respondents who expect an increase in home prices, according to Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI) for September.
The HPSI rose 0.3 points during the month to 88.3, a return to the index’s all-time high recorded in June.
"The biggest driver for the increase in the HPSI is the rebound in the ‘good time to buy’ sentiment, which outweighed the largest drag—a sizable reduction in the net share of consumers expecting home prices to rise over the next year," said Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae.
September saw three of the HPSI’s six components increase. The biggest month-over-month gain was posted by the “good time to buy” component as the net share gained 10 percentage points from the August level to 28%. Fannie Mae said renter respondents particularly showed a substantial upward change in optimism, driving the component’s improvement.
The month also saw improvements in the net share of those who said now is a good time to sell a home, which is up 23 percentage points from the same period a year ago to 38%, as well as the net share of those who say they are not concerned about losing their job, which rose by one percentage point to 75%.
"Details in the survey showed a meaningful pickup in the ‘good time to buy’ component, especially from the renter respondents,” Duncan said. “Additionally, perceptions of easing inventory helped boost the net share saying that now is a good time to buy, which is consistent with less bullish home price appreciation sentiment during the month. Overall, we believe that the devastating impacts of the hurricanes will likely weigh on home sales in coming months, posing downside risks for our forecast, which already calls for only a modest gain in home sales this year."
Meanwhile, the net shares of those who said home prices will go up in the next 12 months, those who believe mortgage rates will go down, and those who said their household income is significantly higher than it was 12 months all decreased during the month.
Related stories:
Sellers upbeat on home prices
Housing sentiment falls in July
The HPSI rose 0.3 points during the month to 88.3, a return to the index’s all-time high recorded in June.
"The biggest driver for the increase in the HPSI is the rebound in the ‘good time to buy’ sentiment, which outweighed the largest drag—a sizable reduction in the net share of consumers expecting home prices to rise over the next year," said Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae.
September saw three of the HPSI’s six components increase. The biggest month-over-month gain was posted by the “good time to buy” component as the net share gained 10 percentage points from the August level to 28%. Fannie Mae said renter respondents particularly showed a substantial upward change in optimism, driving the component’s improvement.
The month also saw improvements in the net share of those who said now is a good time to sell a home, which is up 23 percentage points from the same period a year ago to 38%, as well as the net share of those who say they are not concerned about losing their job, which rose by one percentage point to 75%.
"Details in the survey showed a meaningful pickup in the ‘good time to buy’ component, especially from the renter respondents,” Duncan said. “Additionally, perceptions of easing inventory helped boost the net share saying that now is a good time to buy, which is consistent with less bullish home price appreciation sentiment during the month. Overall, we believe that the devastating impacts of the hurricanes will likely weigh on home sales in coming months, posing downside risks for our forecast, which already calls for only a modest gain in home sales this year."
Meanwhile, the net shares of those who said home prices will go up in the next 12 months, those who believe mortgage rates will go down, and those who said their household income is significantly higher than it was 12 months all decreased during the month.
Related stories:
Sellers upbeat on home prices
Housing sentiment falls in July
