Americans are growing more confident in housing, and a new report from Fannie Mae even shows they are more confident than ever before.
Fannie Mae's Home Purchase Sentiment Index rose 3.4 points in April to 91.7, an all-time survey high. This is up from March's 88.3 increase.
The jump can be attributed to an increase in five of the six HPSI components. Americans who report that now is a good time to sell a home increased six percentage points in March to 45%.
“High home prices and good economic conditions helped push the share of Americans who think it’s a good time to sell to a fresh record high,” said Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae senior vice president and chief economist.
The net share of Americans who said home prices will rise in the next 12 months increased seven percentage points to 49%, while the net share of those who say mortgage rates will go down over the next 12 months increased four percentage points to -48%.
The latest HPSI also shows that Americans are less concerned with losing their jobs. Those who expressed a sense of job security by saying they are not concerned about losing their job over the next 12 months increased five percentage points to 79%. There was also a one percentage point increase to 18% for those who reported a significant income increase from May 2017.
Although there were significant increases Americans' perception of the job market, perhaps due to rising home prices, respondents who thought now was a good time to buy a home fell three percentage points to 29% compared to March.
“The tightest supply in decades, combined with rising mortgage rates from historically low levels, will likely remain a hurdle for mobility and a persistent headwind for home sales,” Duncan said.
