Confidence in home-buying is springing back, with more buyers optimistic about their ability to move off the fence and into the market, according to the recently released Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index® (HPSI) for April.
The HPSI bounced back 2.2 percentage points to 86.7 last month, up from 84.5 in March. Those surveyed for the Index who reported it being “a good time to buy a house” climbed 5 percentage points to 35 percent—but those who reported it being “a good time to sell” shifted 5 percentage points in the opposite direction, down to 26 percent.
“The Home Purchase Sentiment Index returned to its longer-term tread line after reclaiming ground lost last month,” says Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae. “Historically strong inflation-adjusted house price gains are tempering consumer sentiment, whereas consumer optimism regarding the ease of getting a mortgage reached a survey high.”
Those surveyed who believe home prices will rise inched up one percentage point to 45 percent. More of those surveyed believe mortgage rates will go down in the next 12 months, ticking up three percentage points to -57 percent.
On a wider level, just 13 percent of those surveyed reported that their earnings are “significantly higher” than one year ago. In many housing markets, incomes have yet to catch up to home prices.
Seventy-seven percent of those surveyed, however, are “not concerned about losing their job”—a sense of security that can be a prerequisite for home-buying or -selling.
“On balance, housing continues on a gradual track,” Duncan says.
Source: Fannie Mae
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