Fannie Mae’s monthly consumer check in shows a slight improvement when it comes to sentiment around the market. Most notably, a greater share of consumers believes it’s a good time to buy a home—though that population still remains firmly in the minority at 32 percent.
“The HPSI remained relatively flat this month, suggesting to us that the continued strength of demand for housing and favorable home-selling conditions may be offsetting broader concerns about the Delta variant and inflation that have negatively impacted other consumer confidence indices,” said Mark Palim, Fannie Mae Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. “Most consumers continue to report that it’s a good time to sell a home—but a bad time to buy—and they most frequently cite high home prices and a lack of supply as their primary rationale.”
Last month, 62 percent of respondents reported feeling that it was a good time to sell. That number dropped in August to 54 percent, according to the survey.
“However, the ‘good time to buy’ component, while still near a survey low, did tick up for the first time since March,” Palim added. “Perhaps owing in part to the favorable mortgage rate environment and growing expectations that home price growth will begin to moderate over the next twelve months.”
Also down in August was the number of respondents who expect prices to rise over the next year, from 46 percent to 40 percent. Just 24 percent of consumers believe home prices will decline over the next 12 months.