Consumer sentiment about the housing market zoomed to a record high in June, with seller optimism making up most of the uptick, according to Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index. The index rose 2.1 percentage points last month to an 88.3 reading, which matches a record high in February.
The number of consumers who say now is a good time to sell a home reached a record high in June, rising 7 percentage points from the previous month. Researchers note that a strong seller’s market is emerging, as the margin of those who expressed optimism in selling grew wider than for those who expressed optimism in buying, according to the survey.
But “consumers are also growing more optimistic about their ability to get a mortgage, and lenders expect credit standards to ease further going forward,” says Fannie Mae chief economist Doug Duncan. “While consumer optimism on this metric is as high as we’ve seen in the survey’s seven-year history, it’s worth noting that this record is relative to the fairly tight standards in place post-crisis when we started collecting National Housing Survey data. Nevertheless, in the face of very tight housing supply, easing credit standards may fail to have the desired effect and could have the unintended consequence of fueling further house price increases.”
Here are some additional findings from Fannie Mae’s June survey:
- 30%: The net share of consumers who say it’s a good time to buy a home, a 3 percentage point increase from May.
- 39%: A record share of those who say it’s a good time to sell, a 7 percentage point increase from May.
- 46%: The net share of those who say that home prices will rise, a 6 percentage point increase from May.
- 66%: The net share of those who say they are not concerned about losing their job, a 5 percentage point drop from May.
- 17%: The net share of Americans who say their household income is significantly higher than it was 12 months ago, a 1 percentage point drop from May.
Source: Fannie Mae
