Fannie Mae: Housing Sentiment Sees Slight Rebound

(Image courtesy of Fannie Mae; Breakout image courtesy of cottonbro studio/pexels.com)

The Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index saw a 3.2-point increase in June to 72.6.

That returns the score to near its plateau set earlier this year, and shows a recovery from a dip in May. The full index is also up 6.6 points year-over-year.

Of the respondents, 19% say it’s a good time to buy a home. That’s a jump from an all-time low of 14% in May.

Sixty-six percent said it’s a good time to sell, up from 64% in May.

“Affordability concerns remain the primary driver of consumer housing sentiment, even as the topline findings from our monthly survey showed a modest uptick in optimism on both homebuying and home-selling conditions,” said Mark Palim, Fannie Mae Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. “If mortgage rates decline through the end of the year, as we currently forecast, we do think home sales activity will pick up, but progress on that front is likely to be slow due to the ongoing imbalance between supply and demand.”

In terms of home prices, 45% anticipated they will increase, and 17% said they will go down. And, 24% of respondents said mortgage rates would go down, while 33% said they would go up.

Looking at stability, 79% were not concerned about job loss over the next year, but 20% were.

“A significant majority of consumers continue to tell us that it’s a ‘bad time’ to buy a home, and they’re also telling us that they expect both home prices and mortgage rates to move higher over the next 12 months. Taken together, in our view, this leaves little upside to overall sentiment until meaningful progress is made on affordability–most likely in the form of either lower rates or improved supply,” Palim continued.

Additionally, 16% believed their household income will be significantly higher over the next 12 months–10% thought it would be significantly lower.