WASHINGTON, Feb. 9, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Consumer
optimism toward the housing market gained some momentum last month
following a dip in December, likely getting a boost from their
increasingly positive financial outlook, according to results from
Fannie Mae's January 2015 National
Housing Survey™. The share of respondents who said their household
income is significantly higher than it was 12 months ago rose 4
percentage points to 29 percent, and the share expecting their
personal financial situation to improve over the next year
increased to 48 percent – both all-time survey highs. After
dropping in December, the share who said it is a good time to buy a
home increased 3 percentage points to 67 percent, and the share
saying they would buy rather than rent if they were to move jumped
5 percentage points to 66 percent, marking the first increase since
September 2014.
"Consumers are as positive about their personal finances at the
start of 2015 as they have been since we launched the National
Housing Survey in 2010, and this optimism seems to be spilling over
into housing market attitudes," said Doug
Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie
Mae. "Consumers are more optimistic about the environment both for
buying and for selling a home today, and the share who plan to own
on their next move has jumped back up, reversing a three-month
trend toward renting. These results are in line with lender
optimism about future growth in their mortgage origination
business, as shown in our Mortgage Lender Sentiment Survey™.
Overall, these are good signs to start off 2015 and are consistent
with our expectation that strengthening employment and economic
activity will boost the speed of the housing recovery."
SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS
Homeownership and Renting
- The average 12-month home price change expectation rose to 2.5
percent.
- The share of respondents who say home prices will go up in the
next 12 months rose to 49 percent. The share who say home prices
will go down remained constant at 8 percent.
- The share of respondents who say mortgage rates will go up in
the next 12 months decreased by 3 percentage points to 45
percent.
- Those who say it is a good time to buy a house increased to 67
percent. Those who say it is a good time to sell increased to 44
percent—tying an all-time survey high.
- The average 12-month rental price change expectation decreased
to 3.6 percent.
- The percentage of respondents who expect home rental prices to
go up in the next 12 months fell slightly to 52 percent.
- The share of respondents who think it would be easy to get a
home mortgage today fell to 50 percent, while the share saying it
would be difficult to get a mortgage rose 3 percentage points to 47
percent.
- The share who say they would buy if they were going to move
rose to 66 percent, while the share who would rent decreased 5
percentage points to 29 percent.
The Economy and Household Finances
- The share of respondents who say the economy is on the right
track increased by 3 percentage points to 44 percent.
- The percentage of respondents who expect their personal
financial situation to get better over the next 12 months increased
to 48 percent—an all-time survey high.
- The share of respondents who say their household income is
significantly higher than it was 12 months ago rose 4 percentage
points to 29 percent—an all-time survey high.
- The share of respondents who say their household expenses are
significantly higher than they were 12 months increased to 35
percent.
The most detailed consumer attitudinal survey of its kind,
Fannie Mae's National Housing Survey™ polled 1,000 Americans via
live telephone interview to assess their attitudes toward owning
and renting a home, home and rental price changes, homeownership
distress, the economy, household finances, and overall consumer
confidence. Homeowners and renters are asked more than 100
questions used to track attitudinal shifts (findings are compared
to the same survey conducted monthly beginning June 2010). To reflect the growing share of
households with a cell phone but no landline, the National Housing
Survey has increased its cell phone dialing rate to 60 percent as
of October 2014. For more
information, please see the Technical Notes. Fannie Mae conducts
this survey and shares monthly and quarterly results so that we may
help industry partners and market participants target our
collective efforts to stabilize the housing market in the
near-term, and provide support in the future.
For detailed findings from the January
2015 survey, as well as technical notes on survey
methodology and questions asked of respondents associated with each
monthly indicator, please visit the Fannie Mae Monthly National
Housing Survey page on fanniemae.com. Also available on the site
are in-depth topic analyses, which provide a detailed assessment of
combined data results from three monthly studies. The January 2015 National Housing Survey was
conducted between January 1, 2015 and
January 22, 2015. Most of the data
collection occurred during the first two weeks of this period.
Interviews were conducted by Penn Schoen Berland, in coordination
with Fannie Mae.
Opinions, analyses, estimates, forecasts, and other views of
Fannie Mae's Economic & Strategic Research (ESR) Group included
in these materials should not be construed as indicating Fannie
Mae's business prospects or expected results, are based on a number
of assumptions, and are subject to change without notice. How this
information affects Fannie Mae will depend on many factors.
Although the ESR Group bases its opinions, analyses, estimates,
forecasts, and other views on information it considers reliable, it
does not guarantee that the information provided in these materials
is accurate, current, or suitable for any particular purpose.
Changes in the assumptions or the information underlying these
views could produce materially different results. The analyses,
opinions, estimates, forecasts, and other views published by the
ESR Group represent the views of that group as of the date
indicated and do not necessarily represent the views of Fannie Mae
or its management.
Fannie Mae enables people to buy, refinance, or rent
homes.
Visit us at
http://www.fanniemae.com/progress.
Follow us on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/FannieMae.
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SOURCE Fannie Mae