Americans gain confidence in housing as home prices rise
Increasing share saying now is a good time to buy
Americans continue to gain confidence in the housing market, not just despite, but even because of rising home prices, according to the latest Home Purchase Sentiment Index from Fannie Mae. Over the past year, home prices have continued to rise, threatening affordability, and housing inventory is falling dangerously low. However, despite these setbacks, Americans continue to hold a positive view of the housing economy.Fannie Mae’s HPSI rose 3.7 points in January to 89.5, reversing the decrease seen the month before and an all-time survey high. This rise is due to increases in five of the six HPSI components.The share of those who said now is a good time to buy a home increased three percentage points to 27% in January, reversing some of last month’s decline. The share of those who say now is a good time to sell a home also increased, rising four percentage points to 38%.“Over the past year, continued home price growth has helped spur a sizable increase in the net share of consumers who say it’s a good time to sell a home but also a modest weakening in the net share who say it is a good time to buy,” said Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae senior vice president and chief economist.
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