Fannie Mae HPSI: Only 17% Say It’s a ‘Good Time to Buy’

(Image courtesy of Fannie Mae; Image courtesy of Tom Fisk/pexels.com)

Fannie Mae released its latest Home Purchase Sentiment Index, finding that only 17% of Americans currently say it’s a good time to buy a home, down from 19% in June.

The share that believes it is a good time to sell fell from 66% to 65%.

The overall index fell 1.1 points to 71.5, however it’s also up 4.7 points year-over-year.

Looking at costs, 41% believe home prices will go up over the next year, and 21% believe they will go down.

Twenty-nine percent believe that mortgage rates will go down, and 31% believe they will go up.

In terms of general economic sentiment, 77% of respondents aren’t concerned about job loss over the next year.

“Our recently published Mortgage Understanding Study reaffirmed what we’ve long known: that a significant majority of consumers want to own a home,” said Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae Senior Vice President and Chief Economist. “However, 82% told us in July that it’s a ‘bad time’ to buy, a share that’s remained consistent since January 2023, and these particular respondents continue to point to elevated prices and mortgage rates as the primary reasons for that belief. Meanwhile, there seems to be little expectation among the general population that homebuying conditions will improve in the near future: More consumers than not see home prices rising further; and slightly more consumers think mortgage rates will increase, rather than decrease, over the next 12 months.”