Each month, Fannie Mae’s National Housing Survey asks Americans how they feel about the housing market, economy, and their personal financial situation. The survey is a good gauge of home buying sentiment and tracks whether participants think it’s a good time to buy or sell a home, whether they think mortgage rates and prices will go up or down, whether they worry about losing their job, and whether they believe their personal finances will improve or not over the next year. According to the most recent results, consumer sentiment has improved overall, with the index up two points from the previous month. Among the results, 66 percent of respondents said they’d buy, rather than rent, a home if they were going to move. Also, though fewer Americans think home prices will fall over the next year, the net share who think mortgage rates will decline increased 5 percent. Overall, the share of participants who say it’s a good time to buy a home fell 5 percent while the share who say it’s a good time to sell was unchanged from the month before. (source)
