Spring Real Estate Market

“The Home Purchase Sentiment Index returned to its longer-term trend line after reclaiming ground last month,” says Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae’s chief economist. “This is aligned with our market forecast of about 3 percent sales growth in 2017. Historically strong inflation-adjusted house price gains are tempering consumer sentiment, whereas consumer optimism regarding the ease of getting a mortgage reached a survey high. On balance, housing continues on a gradual growth track.” Here are more findings from Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index reading from April, which is based on a survey of about 1,000 consumers. 35%: the net share of Americans who say it’s a good time to buy a home, up 5 percentage points from March. 26%: the net percentage of consumers who say it’s a good time to sell, dropping 5 percentage points from last month’s all-time survey high. 45%: the net share of Americans who believe home prices will rise by 1 percentage point. 77%: the net share of consumers who say they’re not concerned about losing their job, up 7 percentage points from March. 13%: the net share of consumers who say their household income is significantly higher than it was 12 months ago, up 2 percentage points from March. Source: Fannie Mae