Home Buyer Confidence Continues going up
The share of consumers who said they would buy when they were going to move climbed to 67%, while the share of customers who said they might rent dropped to 26 %, an all-time survey low.
41% of consumers expect home values to rise within the next 12 months, an increase of 8 percentage points from June. Household income rebounded in July at the same time, rising 3 percentage points to 11 percent.
“The HPSI reached a new survey high in July, but enthusiasm should be tempered because the increase only returns the index to a very gradual upward trend,” says Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae. “One interesting potential bright note for housing in the July survey is that younger households may finally be shifting toward buying rather than renting in greater numbers. Whether the shift in sentiment in July toward buying rather than renting on their next move holds up or is a temporary reaction to their view that rents are on the rise and mortgage rates will be lower, we will see. However, we are getting set to release some additional research in early August showing evidence of a broader move by older millennials in the direction of ownership.”
Listed below are some additional findings from the latest survey:
33% of Americans say it’s a great time to buy a house, a 1 percentage increase over June.
20% of Americans say it’s a good time to sell a home, a 2 percentage point increase from June (a new survey high).
41% of Americans believe home values will rise, an 8 percentage point increase from June.
36% of Americans believe mortgage rates will drop within the next year.
69% of Americans say they are not worried about losing their job, a 1 percentage point increase from June.
11% of Americans say their household income is significantly higher than it was 1 year ago, a 3 percentage point increase from June’s sharp decline.
