Seller, Buyer Confidence Dips Slightly

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | MONDAY, AUGUST 10, 2015

Consumer attitudes toward home buying and selling stumbled last month, according to Fannie Mae's July 2015 National Housing Survey, a poll of 1,000 Americans.

Read more: Threat to Housing Confidence Emerging

The number of consumers who say now is a good time to buy a home fell to 61 percent – an all-time survey low – while the number of consumers who said now is a good time to sell a home dropped 7 percentage points to 45 percent. The drop in sentiment comes at a time when more consumers are reporting a dimmer outlook with their personal finances and the direction of the economy, according to the survey.

"Consumer attitudes toward housing slid back this month," says Doug Duncan, chief economist at Fannie Mae. "The share of consumers who think it's a good time to sell a home posted a sizable decrease from a record high in the prior month, even as home price change expectations strengthened. Deteriorating consumer assessments of income growth over the past year as well as increased caution around the direction of the economy and personal financial expectations may be contributing to the pullback in sentiment. Still, it is premature to read too much into this month's results as the survey was taken around the time of increased global turmoil, including Greece's potential default and China's stock market plunge, which has receded somewhat. Most of our key indicators are as strong or stronger than they were at this time last year, which is indicative of an improving housing market this year."

Also, among the survey's findings:

• The majority of consumers surveyed expected home prices to rise, on average, 3 percent over the next year.
• The number of respondents who believe it's easy to get a mortgage dropped to 48 percent, while those who say it would be difficult to get a mortgage increased to 49 percent – marking the first time that more respondents felt it would be difficult since October.
• The number of respondents who expect mortgage rates to rise over the next 12 months rose 1 percentage point to 51 percent.
• The percentage of respondents who expect their personal financial situation to improve over the next 12 months dropped to 44 percent.
• The number of respondents who say their household income is significantly lower than it was 12 months ago increased to 15 percent, marking the first change since April.

Source: Fannie Mae