According to Fannie Mae, fewer consumers think it’s a good time to buy a home than any time in the history of the mortgage giant’s National Housing Survey
The percentage of U.S. consumers who think it’s a good time to buy a house hit an all-time low in July, according to new data from mortgage finance giant Fannie Mae.
The percentage of people who think it’s a good time to buy a home slipped to 61%, an all-time survey low, in July despite positive home price change expectations, according to Fannie Mae’s National Housing Survey for July. The share of U.S. consumers who think it’s a good time to buy also dropped, sliding seven percentage points to 45%.
“Deteriorating consumer assessments of income growth over the past year as well as increased caution around the direction of the economy and personal financial expectations may be contributing to the pullback in sentiment,” said Doug Duncan, vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae. “Still, it is premature to read too much into this month’s results as the survey was taken around the time of increased global turmoil, including Greece’s potential default and China’s stock market plunge, which has receded somewhat. Most of our key indicators are as strong or stronger than they were at this time last year, which is indicative of an improving housing market this year.”
Other survey highlights:
The percentage of people who think it’s a good time to buy a home slipped to 61%, an all-time survey low, in July despite positive home price change expectations, according to Fannie Mae’s National Housing Survey for July. The share of U.S. consumers who think it’s a good time to buy also dropped, sliding seven percentage points to 45%.
“Deteriorating consumer assessments of income growth over the past year as well as increased caution around the direction of the economy and personal financial expectations may be contributing to the pullback in sentiment,” said Doug Duncan, vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae. “Still, it is premature to read too much into this month’s results as the survey was taken around the time of increased global turmoil, including Greece’s potential default and China’s stock market plunge, which has receded somewhat. Most of our key indicators are as strong or stronger than they were at this time last year, which is indicative of an improving housing market this year.”
Other survey highlights:
- The share of U.S. consumers who say home prices will go up in the next 12 months rose to 49%.
- The share who say mortgage rates will go up in the next 12 months rose to 51%.
- The percentage of consumers who think it would be easy to get a mortgage fell to 48%, while the share who think it would be difficult rose to 49%. This marks the first time since October that more U.S. consumers feel it would be difficult to get a mortgage.
- The percentage of U.S. consumers who say the economy is on the wrong track rose three percentage points to 54%.
