Housing Sentiment Up Slightly on Reported Household Income Gains

WASHINGTON, DC – The Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index® (HPSI) increased slightly in November, rising 0.5 points to 86.2. The increase can be attributed primarily to an increase in the net share of Americans who reported significantly higher income, which hit a new survey high after jumping 5 percentage points. The net share of Americans who said it is a good time to buy a home rose 2 percentage points, while the net share who said it is a good time to sell a home remained unchanged. Meanwhile, the net share of survey respondents who expect home prices to go up fell 4 percentage points, and the net share who expressed greater job confidence fell 1 percentage point. Finally, the net share who expect mortgage rates to go down increased 1 percentage point.

“The HPSI has moved within a tight range over the past five months, as positive sentiment regarding the overall economy continued to offset cooling housing sentiment,” said Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae. “Consumers’ perceptions of growth in their household income reached a survey high this month, helping to absorb some of the impact of increasing mortgage rates on housing market activity. Meanwhile, the net share of consumers expecting home prices to increase over the next 12 months continues to moderate, dropping by 13 percentage points since this time last year.”

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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