It’s a seller’s market. So it’s no surprise that Fannie Mae’s most recent Home Purchase Sentiment Index found respondents more optimistic about selling a home than they were about buying one. With inventory low and buyer demand high, that’s to be expected. The survey found 69 percent of participants said they believed now was a good time to sell a house, while just 25 percent said they thought it was a good time to buy. Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae’s senior vice president and chief economist, said younger Americans were more likely to be affected by current market conditions. “Younger consumers – more so than other groups – expect home prices to rise even further, and they also reported a greater sense of macroeconomic pessimism,” Duncan said. “All of this points back to the current lack of affordable housing stock, as younger generations appear to be feeling it particularly acutely.” Overall, the index was down 2.4 points from the month before and 5.9 points from last year at the same time. (source)
