Home Purchase Sentiment Index Increases to 82.7 in February

Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index^™ (HPSI) increased 1.2 points to 82.7 in February. The net share of consumers who think home prices will go up over the next 12 months posted the biggest drop among HPSI components, declining 4 percentage points and continuing the downward trend from January. The largest HPSI component increases on net in February were consumers’ confidence about not losing their job and the share of those saying now is a good time to buy a home, which both rose 4 percentage points.

“Our February results show the most modest consumer home price expectations since late 2012,” said Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae. “For consumers who think it’s a bad time to buy a home, whose share has trended up from its recent low last November, high home prices have been an increasingly contributing factor. A slower pace of home price appreciation may provide some relief for potential homebuyers, especially first-time buyers who couldn’t reap the benefits of selling a home at high prices to buy another one.”

On this webpage you will find a news release with highlights from the HPSI and NHS results, the latest Data Release highlighting the consumer attitudinal indicators, month-over-month key indicator data, an overview and white paper about the HPSI, technical notes providing in-depth information about the NHS methodology, the questionnaire used for the survey, and a comparative assessment of Fannie Mae’s National Housing Survey and other consumer surveys.

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