Selling Concerns Grow Among Home Owners

Daily Real Estate News | Thursday, September 10, 2015

Consumer attitudes toward the home selling climate are pulling back to their April 2015 level and receding from a four-year high in sentiment that was reached two months ago, according to a newly released index by Fannie Mae. The Home Purchase Sentiment Index pulls results from Fannie Mae's consumer National Housing Survey in providing a monthly predictive indicator of how the overall housing market is performing.

Read more: Sellers Remain Hesitant to List Homes

"Expectations of rising mortgage rates and increasing concerns in the last six months about the direction of the economy seem to be weighing on consumers' assessment of the housing market," says Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae's chief economist. "Those who think it's a good time to buy or sell a home have consistently pointed to favorable mortgage rates as the primary reason for their optimism. Those who think it's a bad time to buy or sell a home have consistently pointed to unfavorable economic conditions as the primary reason for their pessimism. Still, the four-year upward trend in the HPSI indicates that consumers remain fairly optimistic about the housing market."
The index revealed the following:

• The number of respondents who said that it's a good time to purchase a home climbed to 63 percent, increasing 2 percentage points from last month's all-time survey low.
• The number of consumers who say now is a good time to sell rose 2 percentage points to 47 percent. The percent of respondents who say it is a bad time to sell also increased to 44 percent.
• The number of consumers who believe home prices will rise over the next 12 months dropped to 47 percent.
• The percentage of Americans who believe mortgage rates will rise in the next 12 months increased 3 percentage points to 54 percent.
• The percentage of respondents who say their household income is significantly higher than it was a year ago dropped to 24 percent. Those who say it is significantly lower dropped to 12 percent.

Source: Fannie Mae