Category Archives: consumer confidence

Consumers more confident about housing than ever

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Now is a “good time” to buy or a sell a home, according to more Americans.

The Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index® rose to 88.3 percentage points in February, an all-time high and an increase of 5.6 percentage points since February. The HPSI also increased 5.6 percentage points year-to-year.

Forty percent of Americans said it a good time to buy, an increase of 11 percent from February. Additionally, the percentage of those who think it is a good time to sell rose to 22 percent, a survey high and an increase of 7 percent from the last HPSI.

More than half (55 percent) believe mortgage rates will decline over the year, consistent with the past two months. Forty-five percent believe home prices will continue to rise, an increase of 3 percent.

“The latest post-election surge in optimism puts the HPSI at its highest level since its starting point in 2011. Millennials showed especially strong increases in job confidence and income gains, a necessary precursor for increased housing demand from first-time homebuyers,” said Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae. “Preliminary research results from our team find that millennials are accelerating the rate at which they move out of their parents’ homes and form new households. However, continued slow supply growth implies continued strong price appreciation and affordability constraints facing millennials and first-time buyers in many markets.”

Americans are also more confident with their lives outside of housing. Seventy-eight percent reported they are not concerned about losing their job, an all-time survey high and an increase of 9 percent. Additionally, 19 percent of respondents said their household income is “significantly higher” than it was a year ago, an increase of 4 percent, and a new survey high.

Americans are ‘cautiously optimistic’ about housing market in 2017

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In the new year, Americans are remaining “cautiously optimistic” about the housing market, according to the ValueInsured Modern Homebuyer Survey.

Sixty-nine percent of respondents reported that they think the housing market will be better in 2017 than it was in 2016. Fifty-eight percent of Americans, including 62 percent of millennials, said that they think the housing market will be better for them personally this year. Nearly three-quarters of homeowners believe it will be easier for them this year to upgrade to a new home.

Millennials who are not currently homeowners are the most optimistic about the housing market this year. Forty-one percent believe that 2017 will be an easier time for them to buy, while 44 percent said they are ‘confident’ they can afford a down payment, an increase of 6 percent from September, and 14 percent from March.

“I recommend Americans, especially first-time buyers, absolutely pursue their dream of owning a home,” said Joe Melendez, CEO of ValueInsured. “But it’s up to us as an industry to help make them feel more confident in doing so, and that starts with us giving them greater certainty by protecting their down payments.”

Yet, homeowners are less confident now than they were in September that their homes are worth what they bought them for, and they are also less sure that home prices in their area will keep rising. However, 53 percent believe if they purchase a home this year, it will increase in value by 2018.

But 78 percent of Americans think purchasing is a better option than renting. And owning a home is still a pivotal part of the American Dream, according to 79 percent.