WASHINGTON – Oct. 8. 2014 – After August's dip in consumer housing optimism, the indicators rebounded in September to the modestly positive trend seen throughout 2014, according to Fannie Mae's September 2014 National Housing Survey.
In September, the share of consumers who say it's a good time to buy a home is back up to 68 percent, a four-percentage-point increase from August. The share saying they'd 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 last 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," says 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."
Duncan still expects "bumps on the housing recovery path."
Homeownership and renting
The average 12-month home price change expectation rose to 2.2 percent.
Respondents who say home prices will go up in the next 12 months rose to 45 percent; those that say home prices will go down decreased to 8 percent.
Respondents who say mortgage rates will go up in the next 12 months fell by five percentage points to 45 percent.
Those who say it's a good time to buy a house rose to 68 percent. Those who say 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 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 that say they would buy if they were going to move rose to 66 percent, while the share who would rent decreased to 28 percent.
The economy and household finances
The share who say the economy is on the right track jumped by five percentage points from last month to 40 percent.
The percentage who expect their personal financial situation to get better over the next 12 months fell to 41 percent.
The share of respondents who say 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 say their household expenses are significantly higher than they were 12 months ago increased slightly to 37 percent.
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