Sixty-nine percent of American’s polled in Fannie Mae’s National Housing Survey in August said that now is a good time to buy a home, this is up from 66 percent the prior month. Consumers are not in a home buying mode as a result of feeling good about the economy however as in the survey 78 percent said the economy is on the wrong track, up from 70 percent in July.
“The degree to which consumer attitudes appear to be sensitive to global events is interesting, and seems to be reflected in their view of the economy and their growing overall pessimism,” said Doug Duncan, vice president and chief economist of Fannie Mae. “I believe the public was looking at the U.S. debt, deficit, and the ensuing political struggle with one eye, and looking at Europe and their sovereign debt issues with the other eye, and saying: ‘This is not what we want.'”
SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS
Homeownership and Renting
- For the third month in a row, Americans expect home prices to decline over the next year. On average, Americans expect home prices to go down by 0.5 percent (compared to an expected decline of 0.3 percent in July).
- While 69 percent of respondents say it is a good time to buy a home (up 3 percentage points since last month), only 9 percent of those polled say it is a good time to sell one’s home (down 2 percentage points since July).
- Similar to July, 46 percent of Americans believe home rental prices will increase in the next 12 months, while only 6 percent expect a decline in home rental prices (down by 1 percentage point since last month).
The Economy and Household Finances
- The number of Americans who expect their personal financial situation to worsen over the next year increased for the fourth month in a row (up from 20 percent in July to 22 percent in August).
- Forty-one percent of Americans report significantly higher expenses compared to one year ago (up by 1 percentage point since July).
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