Rosier Economic Sentiment Boosts Housing Attitudes in January

The Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index® (HPSI) increased by 2 percentage points in January to 82.7, ending a five-month decline. Four of the six components that comprise the HPSI were up in January. The net share of Americans who believe that home prices will go up in the next 12 months rose by 7 percentage points, and the net share reporting significantly higher household income in the past 12 months rose by 5 percentage points. The net percentage of those who say that it is a good time to sell a house rose by 2 percentage points, while the net share of those who say it is a good time to buy a house fell by 3 percentage points. On net, consumers demonstrated slightly greater confidence about not losing their jobs, while the net share of those who believe mortgage rates will go down remained unchanged.

“Three months after the presidential election, measures of consumer optimism regarding personal financial prospects and the economy are at or near the highest levels we’ve seen in the nearly seven-year history of the National Housing Survey,” said Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae. “However, any significant acceleration in housing activity will depend on whether consumers’ favorable expectations are realized in the form of income gains sufficient to offset constrained housing affordability. If consumers’ anticipation of further increases in home prices and mortgage rates materialize over the next 12 months, then we may see housing affordability tighten even more.”

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..

January News Release
January 2017 National Housing Survey Data Release (PDF)

National Housing Survey Monthly Indicators Archive
Click here for an archived list of Fannie Mae's National Housing Survey Monthly Indicators.