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National Housing Survey/Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI)

July 2015 Monthly National Housing Survey

July 1, 2015
Americans' Outlook on the Home Selling Market Cools amid Economic and Financial Concerns

Consumer attitudes toward the home selling environment stumbled last month despite positive home price change expectations, according to results from Fannie Mae’s July 2015 National Housing Survey™ (NHS). Among those surveyed, the share of consumers who believe now is a good time to sell a home fell 7 percentage points to 45 percent, while those who believe it is a good time to buy dropped to 61 percent—an all-time survey low. The dip comes as more consumers reported a negative outlook regarding personal finances and the direction of the economy. The share of consumers saying the economy is on the wrong track rose by 3 percentage points to 54 percent in July. Additionally, those who expect their personal financial situation to improve over the next year fell to 44 percent, while those reporting a significantly lower income compared to 12 months ago increased to 15 percent—marking the first change in this indicator in three months.

Monthly Housing Survey

“Consumer attitudes toward housing slid back this month," said Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae. “The share of consumers who think it's a good time to sell a home posted a sizable decrease from a record high in the prior month, even as home price change expectations strengthened. Deteriorating consumer assessments of income growth over the past year as well as increased caution around the direction of the economy and personal financial expectations may be contributing to the pullback in sentiment. Still, it is premature to read too much into this month's results as the survey was taken around the time of increased global turmoil, including Greece's potential default and China's stock market plunge, which has receded somewhat. Most of our key indicators are as strong or stronger than they were at this time last year, which is indicative of an improving housing market this year.”

Fannie Mae's monthly national consumer attitudinal survey report provides indicators offering a window into the opinions of Americans across the country. These behavioral insights convey what consumers think about the outlook for owning and renting a home and about their household finances, and may serve as key inputs for determining the future course of investment across housing types.

n this webpage you will find a news release with highlights from the survey results, the June Data Release highlighting 12 consumer attitudinal indicators, month-over-month key indicator data, technical notes providing in-depth information about the survey methodology, the questionnaire used for the survey, and a comparative assessment of Fannie Mae’s National Housing Survey and other consumer surveys.

Downloads and Related Links
News Release
July 2015 National Housing Survey Data Release (PDF)